


For You I Saved the Love (I Never Knew How to Give)

by pinky_heaven19



Series: For You I Saved the Love [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Adoption, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Dirty Talk, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-24
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 20:52:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 42,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7860673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinky_heaven19/pseuds/pinky_heaven19
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry's face completely changed. “Oh, is that a child?” He sounded almost hopeful. </p>
<p>“Yeah, that's my daughter, Lillian,” he said, unable to contain the pride in his voice and stepped aside. </p>
<p>Harry peeked inside and grinned. “Can I meet her?”</p>
<p>Louis blinked. “Yeah, sure. Come in,” he said and the man followed him inside. </p>
<p>His daughter was looking at him curiously. Her face was red and wet from her tears, but she had calmed down to silent sniffles. </p>
<p>“This is our neighboor, Harry. Come say hi to him.” </p>
<p>The little girl looked at Harry and gave him a shy smile. He kneeled in front of the armchair and held out his hand. “I'm Harry, what's your name?”</p>
<p>“Lilly,” she replied, softly. She looked at his hand and took it in her own small ones. Louis' eyes widened. </p>
<p>“Like the flower?” Harry asked and she nodded, happily. “It's very nice to meet you, Lilly,” he shook her hand up and down as far as her arms could go, and all her bad mood was gone in an instant, dissolved in a big smile.</p>
<p>OR the one where Louis moves to a small town with his young daughter and has a gorgeous neighbor. Harry loves children and Louis also likes him a little bit. Lots of fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to the amazing [JohnDoe221B](http://archiveofourown.org/users/JohnDoe221B), who not only gave me this prompt, but also encouraged me and gave me incredible insight whenever I asked a stupid question. This literally couldn't have been done without her!
> 
> Title from the song Pra você guardei o amor - Nando Reis & Ana Cañas
> 
> There is a [rebloggable](http://pinky-heaven19.tumblr.com/post/164902605534/for-you-i-saved-the-love-i-never-knew-how-to) post for this fic.

Louis looked at the rearview mirror for the hundredth time in the last hour. He couldn't believe his luck. His four-year-old daughter had been fast asleep pretty much the entire ride from their old house to the new one. 

Of course he'd timed this perfectly. You don't go on a car trip with a young child without some planning. It would be reckless, really. With only thirty more minutes to go, he took the chance and turned on the radio on, in a very low volume, just enough to distract him from the boring, empty road.

He looked one more time at the fluff of light brown hair peeking from the small purple fleece comforter that was her faithful companion for any trip outside the city. He hummed with the unfamiliar song and tapped his fingers on the wheel as he approached the outskirts of the new town they were going to live in. 

The thing was, Louis couldn't stand London anymore. The same things that attracted him to it in the first place – the people, the nightlife, the sheer size of it – were now the same things that made him run from it. 

He hated his work commute, having to leave his daughter at a daycare after preschool until he was done for the day, he hated the traffic, the pollution and how he had to get out of his way to get his child to play in a patch of grass. 

He finally snapped when there was an attempt of a break-in. They were – thanfully – out of the house. He kept thanking every god he has ever heard of that on this particular day he and Lilly had decided to take a long walk to her favorite park. In a matter of a couple of weeks he'd arranged for them to move to a town that wasn't too far from London, but far enough that he felt safe. 

It reminded him of his own home town where he grew up in the way the streets were organized, but it was much smaller and with much more green. He rolled the window down a bit, not too much to let the heat in, and fuck, he could smell how the air was different. Feeling giddy with excitement, he followed the GPS instructions until he cornered the street he recognized from  
Google Street View. Slowing the car, he admired the pretty houses along the street.

They all had grass in front of them, but he wouldn't consider them proper lawns. He knew they all had backyards, which was something he'd specifically asked the real-estate agent for. And he'd been precious, sending him picture after picture, organizing things neatly in a spreadsheet. It took him less than a day to decide on the house he was now nearing with his car, the moving truck following him right behind. 

He turned the car off and climbed out silently, admiring the construction in front of him. He couldn't believe that the rent he paid in London for a tiny flat was enough to rent a house like this. Two-stories, three bedrooms (one a suite) and two bathrooms, large kitchen/living room, laundry room and a backyard with an actual tree in it. 

He'd looked at it from a variety of different angles, the realtor kind enough to take more pictures when he was almost certain the house would be the one. He liked the way he could keep an eye on Lillian from the kitchen while she played both in the backyard and in the living room. The whole second floor was carpeted, and he could already see himself using one of the rooms as his office – he surely wasn't planning on another child. 

The red apparent bricks called to him, just like the white windowsills did. Slowly, he pulled open the back passenger door and gently pulled the comforter out of his daughter's face.

“Wake up, love,” he said in a soft voice.

“Are we there yet?” She asked, tiny voice heavy with sleep and eyes she could barely keep open.

“Yeah, we're home,” he said and stepped out of the way so she could see the house. 

She blinked the sleep from her eyes and rubbed them with closed fists. “Looks pretty, daddy,” she said and Louis smiled at her. “May I get down?” She asked and Louis motioned to unbuckle her from her booster seat, but she whined and he stepped back, letting her do it. She did it without much of a fuss, and soon was jumping out of the car and onto the pavement.

“There's Mr. Phill,” Louis said and grabbed his daughter's hand, walking them in the direction of the realtor who was approaching them. 

“Good afternoon, Tomlinsons,” he said in a cheerful tone,” So nice to finally meet you,” he said and shook Louis' hand. “You too, princess,” he said and crouched in front of her. The man was as friendly as could be, and still she hid herself behind Louis' leg.

“Sorry, she's a little shy around strangers,” he apologized for her, but didn't make her greet the realtor. 

“Hopefully we won't be strangers for very long. My family lives in the neighborhood, so anything you need I'm just a phone call away,” he said with a polite smile. “Come on in, I'll talk to the moving guys and we'll get you settled in no time.” 

Louis took the keys the man offered him and guided his daughter inside. She took off running from room to room while he walked around slowly. “Wait for me to go upstairs,” he told her and walked into the kitchen. It had all the basic appliances they would need, like a stove and a refrigerator, but even empty it felt cozy. 

He was happy to see for himself how much natural light flooded the space. No need for turning the lights on during the day, that was for sure. He went to the laundry room to find his daughter crouching behind the washing machine – an old thing the previous owners didn't bother taking with them when they moved. 

“I wonder where Lilly is,” he said out loud and heard a giggle from where she was hiding. “I'll have to look for her in the kitchen again,” he said and smiled even before she crawled to him and grabbed his ankles.

“Boo!” She yelled and he faked a scream. Putting his hand on his chest, he picked her up and held her against him.

“You scared me,” he said as she squirmed in a fit of giggles. He dug the tips of hs fingers on her sides and she was thrashing about so vigorously he had to put her down. She didn't appreciate being carried much nowadays anyway. 

Out of breath, she adjusted the t-shirt around her waist. “Silly daddy.”

“Come, let's see upstairs,” he said and she held his hand as they climbed up the steps to the second floor. She ran from him the second he let her hand go, going into one of the rooms. 

Louis followed her and found himself in the master bedroom. It was spacious and had three windows facing different directions. Two more than in his old bedroom. He went to the window to his right and realized he could see the backyard of the house next to theirs.

“They have a pool, daddy,” Lilly told him excitedly. “We have to make friends with them,” she said, and he ran a hand through her hair as he cringed a little. He clearly needed to work more on the whole friendship thing with her. “Is this my room?” She asked as she went to the bathroom, climbing inside the bathtub. 

Louis could cry from the idea of having his own, private bathroom. The cabinet under the sink was old and chipped, another courtesy left from the previous home owners, but he was in no hurry to replace it. The mirror over the sink only had a small crack to it. It added charm, really.

“No, peanut. Let's get to yours,” he said and they walked to the next one. It was perfect for his office so he just guided them past it and to the next one, located right in front of his office. He didn't want his daughter to see it and want to switch. “This is your room,” he said, and the girl twirled around the space. It was as big as his own bedroom back in London.

“It's so big,” she said, going over to the window, “but I can't see the pool from here,” she said, a frown forming on her pretty face. 

“Good, we don't want to spy on our neighbors, it's not polite,” he said and took a peek outside the window. He could see the street from where he was. “You'll love it when you're a teen, perfect for sneaking out,” he said with a smile.

“What's sneaking out?” She asked and he shook his head.

“Nothing. Let's go find Phill,” he said and they went downstairs. 

Phill was talking to the moving company men, and Louis awkwardly instructed them on where to put the furniture and boxes. He didn't like to stand still while other people did heavy work, but he had to keep an eye on his daughter, who was running up and down the stairs like a maniac. 

He never considered himself to be over protective, but the door was wide open and she could sneak out at any moment. It took less than an hour for the men to unload the truck and place the furniture where he thought looked best.

It didn't help that his couch and armchair were too big for the spacious living room, or that his bed disappeared in his bedroom. The only place that looked like it was somewhat planned was Lilly's room. She needed a new playrug, but other than that, her small bed and wardrobe fit the space well. The chest of drawers was pushed far on a wall, just like she wanted it, so there was more room to play. 

He could worry about new furniture later. He was more than happy with how things turned out. 

Louis thanked the men and Phill profusely before tipping them generously and closing the door. His daughter waved a shy goodbye to the realtor and sighed when he closed the door.

“Are you hungry?” He asked her and she shook her head. “Sure?” She nodded, this time. She was finally out of a phase of picky eating, but her appetite seemed to have diminished. He wasn't too worried; she always asked for a snack when she was hungry and was eating fine during meals. As long as it wasn't green or mushy, of course. It hurt his feelings just a little, because homemade mash was kind of his specialty. 

“May I go play in the backyard?” She asked him, eyes pleading. 

He grinned widely at her. “Go at it, love.” 

She pushed the glass door to the backyard open, using both her hands and all her strenght, and the first thing she did was run directly to the tree. Louis watched as she felt the rough bark of the tree with her small, short fingers. Part of him wished she was adventurous enough to try and climb it, and part of him tried to ignore the images of her falling and breaking a bone. 

“You brought this on yourself, Tommo,” he mumbled to himself and started going through the boxes in the kitchen to start putting things away. 

He had more space than things, and the lower cabinets were completely bare except for a few plastic cups and plates for Lilly to be able to reach whenever she wanted them. He stared at the empty fridge and tried to remember if they'd driven by a grocery store. 

A little over twenty minutes later she came inside and asked for her favorite toy. After fifteen minutes of unsuccessful searching, the pandemonium was inevitable. They couldn't find the rather big rainbow colored teddy, the one she packed herself, in any of the boxes.

“I want my toys, daddy!” She screamed through fat tears, but Louis had searched for them everywhere.

“We'll look for them tomorrow morning, you have plenty of other toys to play with until we find them.”

“No!” Was all she screamed. “I want my bear, find it!”

“No attitude, Lilly,” he warned her and she just screamed louder. “I'll give you one chance to calm yourself down before I put you on time out.”

She cried harder at that and Louis sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he'd put on a serious expression on his face. “Go sit on the armchair for four minutes.” He ordered.

She whined and more tears fell from her eyes, but she obeyed him. It broke his heart to see her marching into the living room and climbing on the chair, tears streaming down her face. 

While rummaging through the boxes trying to find the toys, Louis had found her “time out bottle”, an old soda bottle he'd filled with glicerin and colorful glitter. He grabbed it and shook it vigorously before handing it to his daughter, who was still sniffling loudly. He set the timer in the kitchen to four minutes and put it on the coffee table in front of her.

“When it beeps, you come into the kitchen and we'll talk.”

He was making his way back into the kitchen, looking through his phone for any take-out number Google could find near him when the doorbell rang. He walked past his daughter and she was entranced by the glitter settling down to the end of the bottle. 

He was expecting an old lady to be welcoming him into the neighborhood, or maybe a stay at home mum or dad. What he wasn't expecting was the the most handsome man he'd ever seen in his entire life to be on the other side of the door.

His eyes were the first thing Louis noticed, green and welcoming. His smile was the second, perfectly white teeth. The third was the dimple on his cheek, showing because of his wide grin. The fourth was his hair, long and dark and curly. Lastly, he noticed the sharp line of his jaw and cheekbones. Then, he remembered to breathe.

“Hello,” the stranger said, and fuck, his voice matched his appearance. “I'm Harry,” he said. His voice was like thick honey, making Louis' brain all fuzzy. 

“Hi,” he squeaked out. “I'm Louis, nice to meet you.”

The man balanced the glass dish in one hand and shook Louis with the other. His hand was icy cold, and Louis shivered.

“Saw you moving in, thought I'd welcome you,” he said, all warm smiles and flirty glances. Louis had never been this attracted to someone this fast in his entire adult life. “Brought you something for dinner. Nothing's more stressful than worrying about dinner when you're drowning in boxes and wondering how you could accumulate so much crap,” he said, matter of factly.

That got a giggle out of Louis. “Something like that, yeah. Thank you so much,” he said, taking the dish from the man's hand, feeling the cold emanating from it.

“Just pop it in the oven for half an hour,” the man explained and rubbed his hands together.

“You shouldn't have gone through all this trouble,” he said, honestly impressed with the man's kindness.

“I had already had it made, no trouble at all. It's a vegetable casserole. Saw your license plate from London and figured you could be a vegetarian.”

“I'm not,” Louis said with a giggle and Harry smiled at him. He could faintly hear the beep of the timer and then his daughter screaming for him.

“Daddy?” 

Harry's face completely changed. “Oh, is that a child?” He sounded almost hopeful. 

“Yeah, that's my daughter, Lillian,” he said, unable to contain the pride in his voice and stepped aside. 

Harry peeked inside and grinned. “Can I meet her?”

Louis blinked. “Yeah, sure. Come in,” he said and the man followed him inside. 

His daughter was looking at his curiously. Her face was red and wet from her tears, but she had calmed down to silent sniffles. 

“This is our neighboor, Harry. Come say hi to him.” 

The little girl looked at Harry and gave him a shy smile. He kneeled in front of the armchair and held out a hand. “I'm Harry, what's your name?”

“Lilly,” she replied, softly. She looked at his hand and took it in her own small ones. Louis' eyes widened. 

“Like the flower?” Harry asked and she nodded, happily. “It's very nice to meet you, Lilly,” he shook her hand up and down as far as her arms could go, and all her bad mood was gone in an instant, dissolved in a big smile.

“What do we say?” Louis urged her patiently.

“It's nice to meet you, too,” she recited. Harry grinned wider.

“What's that in your hands?” He asked, pointing to the bottle full of glitter.

“It's my time out bottle. I watch it when I'm in time out.”

Harry's brow furrowed. “Oh no, why were you on time out?”

“Because I was being sassy to daddy,” she replied and Harry snorted. He pulled himself together quickly enough. 

“Oh, we should never do that,” he said and she shook her head. 

“She was upset because we can't find her toys. We've looked in every box there is, and we can't find them,” Louis explained as he settled the casserole on the counter.

“Have you checked the one in the car?” Harry said, standing up to his full height. “I saw it when I was walking here, in the back seat.”

Louis and his daughter exchanged a look and brought their palms to their foreheads in an identical frustrated gesture.

“It's in the car!” She squealed with joy. Louis remembered now. They'd put it in the car for extra safe-keeping. So much for that. 

“You've just saved the day, thank you,” Louis told him with a smile and a pat on his shoulder. 

“Let's get it, daddy,” she urged him, running and picking up the keys, handing them to her father.

“Let's go,” he said and Harry followed them outside. It was completely dark out and Louis noticed Harry was holding her hand while he went around the car and pulled the box out with a grunt. All her favorite books were in there, too.

She was jumping from one foot to the other, barely containing her excitement. She followed Louis inside and settled herself on the floor, picking every item out of the box. Harry stood at the door, watching her with a smile.

“She looks just like you,” he said to Louis, conversationally. “Exact same eyes.”

“Really? People say we don't look much alike,” Louis said, surprised.

“Nah, she has your features. Lighter hair, though. Her mother's?”

Louis nodded, uncomfortable. “Her mother is not in the picture, though,” he said, simply.

Harry's expression changed. “Oh, I'm sorry I brought it up.”

Louis waved him a hand. “Don't worry about it. Listen, I'll heat the casserole up now, would you like to join us for dinner?”

“Thanks for the offer, but I'll let you two to it. I'll drop by tomorrow with lunch, so don't worry about it either.”

“I can't let you do that,” Louis said. Standing so close to the man, he could see how tall he actually was. He swallowed dry. 

“Nonsense, it'll be my pleasure. Is she a picky eater? I have some chicken and fresh eggs,” Harry suggested and Louis could not believe his kindness.

“We're working on that, but chicken will be more than fine. But you have to stay and eat with us,” he insisted. What the hell was he doing?

“Deal. I'll see you tomorrow, then,” Harry said and Louis nodded. “Goodbye Lilly,” he half shouted to the girl in the living room.

“Bye, Harry,” she replied with an excited wave and went back to her toys. She hugged the rainbow colored bear tight to her chest.

“Thank you again, good night,” Louis said and watched as Harry walked away from the door. He watched, curiously, to see where the man would head. Much to his surprise, he walked inside the house next door. He was the one with the pool. 

Grinning, Louis closed the door and locked it, turning his attention back to his daughter.

“I”m sorry I was rude to you, daddy,” she said and walked to him. He got down to her level and hugged her tight.

“Thanks for apologizing, love,” he said to her and smiled. “Come see what's for dinner. Harry was kind enough to bring us something to eat, we should write him a thank you note, yeah?”

The girl nodded and followed Louis to the kitchen, scrunching her nose when she saw the broccoli in the pasta. “Can we take it out? I don't like it,” she said and Louis agreed. He'd learned long ago to pick his battles. She was still eating corn and ham and olives and tomatoes, so he didn't insist.

It turned out that Harry was an amazing cook. It was the best casserole he'd had in his life, even counting his mum's, and Lilly agreed with him whole heartedly. Louis had cut a few pieces of broccoli into tiny pieces and she'd eaten them without noticing, making yummy noises as she gobbled down her entire plate. 

She was tired enough not to put up a fight when Louis announced it was time for a bath and then bed. She was giddy to be taking a bath in her dad's bathtub, in his own bathroom, that she barely whined when he washed her hair. She was surprisingly easy with baths, even though Louis was the only one she allowed to give her one. Not even her grandmother and aunts were allowed to do it. 

“What pajamas do you wanna wear tonight?” He asked, going over to her chest of drawers and picking up two choices for her.

“The froggy ones,” she replied after serious contemplation. It was an important decision, after all. 

Louis laid down in her teeny tiny bed and waited as she slowly dressed herself. He only had to help her button the last button up, and soon she was snuggled against him with her book of choice for the night. 

“This one,” she proudly announced, handing him her favorite Dr. Seuss one.

Louis rolled his eyes. They'd been reading that one for weeks now, and she had the beginning memorized already. Still, he said nothing and patiently read it for her, tracing the words with his fingers so she could see them. 

She listened attentively for almost ten minutes before her head rolled to the side. Louis smiled and kissed the top of her head. She smelled sweet, of peaches and baby powder. He couldn't bring himself to change her body wash, the one he'd been using on her since she was a baby. Slowly, he untangled her legs wrapped around him. 

“Daddy?” She called softly. “Will you check for monsters?” She asked him and Louis sighed. 

He had no idea where she'd gotten this from, they'd never watched or read books with scary monsters in their stories, but she still made him check under the bed and inside the closet every single night. Some days it didn't help at all and she'd crawl into his bed in the middle of the night, crying and scared.

“No monster here,” he said after he checked. She seemed convinced, already falling asleep again. “Good night, love. Sleep well, I'll see you tomorrow. Love you,” he said and she mumbled in response. He kissed her cheek and tucked her in, making sure her stuffed bear was close by if she wanted it during the night. 

He turned the night light on and turned off the lights, leaving the door slightly ajar. He'd been apprehensive all day about her finding it difficult to sleep in a different room than the one she'd slept in all her life, but he was more confident now. Maybe she was just tired, he thought.

He went to his bedroom and stripped of his clothes, dirty and smelly from the move. It had been a long day. He showered, amazed at the delicious pressure coming from the shower head and put on some boxers. 

The clean sheets were cool against his skin and he sighed in pleasure as he settled himself down. He called his mother and chatted with her for a bit, telling her about the house and promising to have Lilly call the next day. 

It was barely nine o'clock when he hung up and decided to call it a day. He needed a good night's sleep, they both did. Half their things were still unpacked and his back was already sore. He was almost falling asleep when he heard the distinct sound of splashing water. 

Without thinking, he got up from the bed and went to the window. Oh.

Harry was swimming. Honest to God swimming, making laps around the pool, back and forth, barely coming up for air. Louis gaped when he pulled himself out of the water after a good ten minutes. Jesus fuck, Harry was fit. So goddamnn fit that Louis whined at the back of his throat. 

The strong light in his backyard was on and Louis could see his tattooed torso. Two birds near his collarbones, what appeared to be a butterfly on his stomach – Louis didn't miss the pun in that – and a pair of laurels right by the V on his hips. His legs went on forever, and Louis didn't even want to think about how perfectly round his bum looked in those ridiculous yellow trunks. His mouth watered as Harry twisted his hair and rinsed the water out and he got a good look of his back. 

He went to close the curtains to realize he hadn't put them up yet. With a groan, he marched back to bed and forced himself to fall asleep. He didn't need this kind of distraction in his life, he honestly didn't. His plate was full enough as it was, and Louis absolutely did not need a complication. It was still difficult for him to fall asleep that night.


	2. Chapter 2

Louis was a heavy sleeper, there was no secret in that. But his ears and brain were trained to wake up to the slightest sound that came from his daughter's room from the first day he brought her home, and it wasn't different this time. 

He woke up to the sound of her bedroom door being opened and the little patter of her feet coming to his room. He glanced at his phone and saw it was five thirty two and still dark out. Too early to get up.

Still, he smiled down at her when she crawled in bed with him and lifted the cover so she could slip under it. She did and snuggled up to him, her hand going immediately to the stubble on his face.

“Bad dream?” He asked, voice hoarse and low. She shook her head and he sighed, closing his eyes. She laid on top of him completely, resting her head on his chest. He circled her with his arms and was back to sleep in a matter of seconds. 

He loved it when she came to his bed in the middle of the night, looking for comfort. Whether from a bad dream of something she could not quite process throughout the day or her just wanting to feel his warmth to feel safe. No matter what reason she had, Louis never would nor could refuse his little angel a cuddle. The truth was, he was amazed at the idea that a human being, a whole person – albeit a tiny one – thought he was the most incredible person in the whole world and loved him with all her might. He felt exactly the same way.

When he woke up again she was poking his cheek and looking down at him with eyes that mirrored his exactly.

“Morning, stink breath,” he said affectionately and she scrunched her nose.

“You have stinky breath,” she said and he nodded.

“I do, yeah. Let me give you a kiss,” he teased and she leapt from the bed with a shriek, scurrying off to her bedroom. 

He smiled to himself and stretched on the bed, checking the time to see it was past seven. Still early for a Sunday morning, but he couldn't remember the last time he slept in. Maybe when they were at his mum's and she'd taken nanny duties. 

With a sigh he sat on the edge of the bed and turned his neck to the sides, feeling it pop loudly. Rubbing his hair with both hands, he went to the bathroom and closed his door. He finished his morning routine quickly, knowing he had to take care of a ball of energy before she destroyed the house in her tail. She was always most energetic in the mornings. 

“Lilly?” He called to her and found the little in her bedroom, trying her hardest to make her bed. She was puffing as she tried to arrange the fitted sheet in one corner, only to have it unravel in the other one. “Need some help?”

“Yes, please,” she answered and he helped her finish it. He sat on her bed and watched as she arranged her bears next to her pillow. He could actually see the tangles and knots in her fine hair and dreaded the crying that he knew was ahead of him, and her pajamas had a blue stain on them he had no idea where it had come from. He put her on his lap and the smell hit him. Toothpaste.

“Did you brush your teeth already?” He asked her and she nodded. She was getting so independent and he loved it and hated it at the same time. “Did you use the bathroom?” She nodded again. “Did you flush and wash your hands?”

She shook her head slowly and got off from his lap to go to the bathroom. He heard the sound of the toilet flushing and her hands were wet when she climbed on his lap again. “All clean,” she announced and he bit one of her fingers. She giggled and pulled her hand away, wiping it on his shirt. 

“Daddy's hungry. Are you hungry?” She nodded.

“What's for breakfast?” 

“Well, we have to go to the grocery store yet, so maybe we can go out for breakfast?”

Her eyes lit up at the suggestion, just like he knew they would. She loved to be taken out to eat. 

“Yes, daddy, please!” She yelled and he laughed. 

“What do you want to wear today?” He asked and her whole face was serious in concentration. He opened her small wardrobe and she peered inside. She pointed to a pair of jeans shorts and a pink t-shirt with a drawing of a purple spaceship on it. He took them out and she started to change. 

He liked to give her choices for anything, wanted to teach her from an early age that she was in charge when it came to her decisions. As long as they weren't completely crazy and harmful, he was fine with them. 

Then she made her sit on the bed and brushed her hair. There were tears, as he had predicted, but his fingers were familiar with the task and he tied her hair up in a simple pony tail. They were both hungry and with no time to waste. 

He changed into a simple pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt and they were out the door with minimal delay. They drove around for a few minutes, her chatting away about the dream she'd had – one where they had a dog, and he thought she was probably making that part up – while he looked for some place to eat. 

He found a bakery not two blocks from their house and thanked all the gods for the good location. They climbed out of the car and entered the cozy place.

“Smells good here,” she told him when they entered and the smell of freshly baked bread and coffee hit them. He walked to the counter and a small old lady smiled brightly at them, more so at Lilly. “Good morning,” he told her, “Do you have a breakfast menu?” He asked her and she handed him one.

“Good morning, I'm Lisa,” she told them and walked around the counter and crouched down to Lilly's level. 

“It's nice to meet you, Lisa. I'm Louis and this is...” he trailed off, hoping that Lilly would finish it for him. No such luck. She was hiding behind his legs, so he continued, “this is Lillian. She's a little shy.”   
“Well hello, Lilly,” she smiled warmly at her and the little girl only blinked. Unaffected, the woman stood up and brushed her hands on her apron. “You can sit down and I'll be right there to take your order.”

“Thank you,” Louis told her and they sat at a table near the glass window. Lilly was looking out, completely uninterested as he read her the breakfast options.

“Lilly, pay attention to me,” he said and she looked at him, kneeling on the chair and playing with the napkin holder. “Want some chocolate milk and some bread and butter?” He asked and she shook her head.

“Chocolate milk and pancakes,” she said and he checked the menu to see if they served those. They did, and he ordered pancakes for himself as well, and a cup of black coffee. Louis entertained her while they were waiting for their food by showing her the menu and telling her to find the word milk. She was still working on her alphabet, but she recognized the letter M – the three legged one – and the L – the one she could do with her left hand. She was busy looking for those when the door opened and in walked Harry.

He was wearing a pair of black track shorts and a black t-shirt to match. His sneakers were impeccably white and his hair was tied up in a bun. Louis realized he could see the small curls on the nape of his neck damp with sweat, and he shifted in his chair. Lilly was standing next to him, still staring at the menu in Louis' hands.

“Good morning, ladies,” Harry said, a little out of breath and plucking earphones out from his ear and stuffing them in his pockets.

“Hi, Harry,” Lisa said. “The usual?”

“Yes, please. You died your hair, it looks nice. Brings out your eyes more,” he said and the woman giggled, swatting the air in front of her.

Louis was staring, and he knew it. He was also caught, as Harry swiped the room looking for a place to sit. His eyes landed on Louis and he smiled, his dimple making an appearance. God.

He walked over to their table, Lilly looking up. She smiled wide and he smiled back. “Good morning, Louis. Good morning, Rosie.”

“I'm not Rosie,” she said before Louis could greet him properly.

“You're not?” Harry said, brows furrowed in confusion. “Of course you are, you have the name of a flower. Aren't roses flowers?” 

She giggled and Louis watched a small curl of Harry's lips as well. “No, silly. It's Lilly.”

Harry slapped his forehead. “Right, Lilly,” he said and smiled. “Mind if I sit?” He addressed Louis, who gestured to the chair in front of him. “Thanks.”

Much to Louis surprise, Harry caught Lilly and sat her down on his lap. His eyes definitely bulged out of their sockets when she didn't climb down. Instead, she adjusted herself and picked a napkin, tearing it to pieces and lowly humming to a song in her head.

“How do you like the neighborhood so far?” Harry asked conversationally, and Louis had to focus to answer him, still too impressed at how easily Lilly had gotten along with him. 

“It's good, yeah. Very quiet at night.” It was official, he had spent so much time around small children he'd forgotten how to keep an adult conversation going. Harry smiled at him anyway and nodded in agreement.

“Good for kids, very safe,” he said and Louis couldn't make himself look away. Harry looked absolutely gorgeous, and nobody should look this good after exercising. It was written somewhere as a rule, he was sure. “What time should I bring lunch for you today?” He asked and Louis snapped out of his creepy stare.

“Oh, I'm going grocery shopping after breakfast, we should be good, thanks.”

“Nonsense, you already agreed to it last night,” he said and watched as Lisa brought Louis and Lilly's food.

“Thank you,” Louis said and looked at his daughter. “Lilly?”

“Thank you,” she said to the woman and she smiled down at her.

“You're welcome, love. Enjoy.”

Lilly grabbed the mug with both her hands and balanced it slowly to her mouth. Louis was going to take it from her hands to test the temperature when Harry beat him to it. 

“Let me see if it's too hot,” Harry said and tried to bring the mug to his lips, but Lilly stood her ground and didn't give it to him. Harry started a very light tug of war with her and she cackled when he pursed his lips and tried to drink from it while she was still holding it. 

“The mug is still cold, I think we're good,” he told Louis with a smile and Louis thanked him.

“You're good with kids,” Louis pointed out and watched his daughter closely as she picked up the fork and knife and started to cut her pancakes slowly and a little uncoordinated. Harry's eyes were on her as well. 

“I quite like them, you know,” he said and Louis didn't miss the way he smiled fondly at his daughter.

“Lilly,” Louis told her as she managed to cut a piece on her own, “what do we do before we eat?”

She thought long and hard about it before her eyes widened and she held the fork out to Harry. “Would you like some?” She said and he nodded.

“Yes, please,” he said and she fed him the piece of pancake. He munched on it loudly and she giggled. “Want me to help you cut the rest?” He offered and she shook her head. With all her focus on the food, they could talk properly. If Louis managed a normal conversation, that was. 

“Are you originally from London?” Harry asked him, still occasionally glancing at Lilly and the knife in her hand. 

“No, Doncaster,” Louis said, taking a sip of his coffee and silently offering it to Harry, who shook his head. 

“Not far from here,” Harry said and Louis hummed in agreement. He was going to wait for Harry's own food to arrive before eating. 

“My whole family is from there, actually,” he said. “And you?”

“Born and raised in Holmes Chapel,” Harry said with a smile and a hand to his chest. 

“And what do you do for work around here?” Louis asked, curious. 

“I'm a journalist. Write for the local newspaper and for some magazines,” Harry answered and Lilly interrupted him.

“Do you write stories?” She asked, looking back at him.

“No, I write about music,” he said and the answer didn't interest her much. 

“Sounds nice. Didn't know you could make a living writing for magazines,” Louis chimed in

“You can if you write for a lot of them,” Harry said and thanked the woman as she brought him his food – orange juice and a ham and cheese sandwich. 

“Why is your bread brown?” Lilly asked him curiously.

“It's whole grain bread. Here, have a taste,” he tore a piece of it and handed it to her. She carefully sniffed it.

“Go on, try it,” Louis encouraged her and she put it in her mouth, only to promptly stop chewing, her face turned in disgust. Harry laughed and grabbed a napkin, holding it in front of her mouth so she could spit it.

“It's an acquired taste,” he said with a chuckle. 

Louis took the opportunity to dig in his own food. It tasted delicious. “What about you, Louis? What do you work with?”

“I work as an accountant,” he said, prepared to get the same bored reaction he got from everybody, but Harry nodded, interested. He kept going. “It's something I can do while working from home. As long as I meet the deadlines, my boss doesn't care much,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“It's great working from home, although people think it's easy,” Harry said and Louis agreed with him completely. 

“The hours are still long,” Louis pointed out.

“And on top of that you still have a little one to take care of,” Harry said, bouncing his legs slightly now that she'd put the knife down. She giggled and continued eating. 

“My days are definitely full,” Louis agreed and smiled down at his daughter, having much more fun at breakfast than he thought she would. 

“Is it just you, then? Watching Lilly?” Harry asked cautiously. 

“Yeah, just us,” he answered and Harry dropped the subject. 

They finished eating in light conversation, with Louis asking Harry for directions to a nearby supermarket and promises of lunch at his door at eleven thirty. 

Harry held Lilly and stood up. She circled her arm around his neck and made a face.

“You smell,” she said and Louis gasped.

“Lilly!” He scolded, “That's a rude thing to say, apologize to Harry now.” He was mortified.

Harry, on the other hand, was laughing as if it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard while he put her down.

“I'm sorry, Harry,” she apologized, but Louis could tell she didn't mean it one bit.

“It's okay, love,” Harry said, still giggling.

“I really am sorry for that,” Louis said, giving his daughter a serious look.

“Hey, she was just being honest. I probably stink more than I realized,” he assured and Louis felt better. He also bet his life Harry smelled amazing. “Goodbye Lilly, see you in a bit,” he said and she waved at him. “See you, Louis,” he said and Louis watched him walk away through the glass window.

The day had started off well. The food was good, the company even better, and he only had to remind Lilly to chew with her mouth closed once, which was an unprecedented success. 

She also didn't whine too much when it took them more than an hour to buy everything they needed for the house. Louis was ready to get on his knees and thank the cashier when the bill added to half of what he would have paid for in London, and he was in a great mood while he finished unpacking the rest of the boxes under Lilly's bored but attentive watch. 

“May I watch some TV?” She asked when he finally considered the living room done and went to the kitchen to whip up a salad or something. It was nearly eleven fifteen and something about Harry had him thinking he was a punctual man. 

“No, help me wash these,” he said, and she groaned but came to stand next to him on the kitchen sink. She climbed the stool and he handed her the lettuce and rocket leaves so she could wash them. “Rub them nice, yeah?” He said and she turned on the water and began to work, her face getting hit with small droplets of water that made her giggle. 

Louis ran to the fridge and got the oranges out to make the juice. He quickly ran them under the water before he set off to work himself. 

“Is Harry our friend yet, daddy?” She asked him, and Louis glanced over to where she was standing to notice she'd only washed two lettuce leaves, but he kept his cool. It was important that he showed her he trusted her with the things he told her to do. 

“I don't think we're there just yet, peanut,” he answered honestly.

“What do we have to do to make him our friend?” She asked, thankfully considering the leaf clean enough to pick another one.

“Spend some more time together, find out if we have things in common,” he said, throwing away the peels and cleaning up the sink where some juice has spilled. “Why? Do you wanna be friends with Harry?”

“Yeah, he's cool,” she said the word vehemently and Louis chuckled.

“He does seem cool, doesn't he?” Louis mused, adding some ice cubes to the juice and putting it back in the fridge. It honestly was one word that he would use to describe Harry, but not the only one. None of them he could say in front of his daughter, that was for sure. He started to set the table, which caught Lilly's attention and she gave up her salad washing duties to do it herself.

Louis finished it up quickly and was drying his hands when the doorbell rang.

“I'll get it,” Lilly shouted, running past him and struggling with the key to open the door.

“Hi Tulip,” he heard Harry's cheery voice before he saw him and smiled.

“It's Lilly,” she said with a giggle and Louis watched Harry drop a kiss to her head before looking at him. He was wearing tight jeans and Louis tried his hardest not to stare. Louis gasped in surprise when he saw the tray on Harry's hand, foil hiding its contents. 

“Hi, Harry,” Louis said, voice a little breathier than usual. Even Lilly looked up at him funny. 

“Hi, Louis. Where should I put this?” He asked, and Louis guided him to the kitchen. Harry carefully placed it center on the table.

“What is it?” Lilly asked, kneeling on the chair and trying to peer under the shiny foil.

“Don't touch it, it's hot. It's chicken,” Harry announced and proudly peeled off the foil, to reveal a whole chicken baked with potatoes, carrots and zucchinis. 

“Wow,” Lilly said, her big eyes showing amazement, and Louis thought it expressed his thoughts exactly.

“Harry, God. You didn't have to do all this,” Louis mumbled, but Harry waved him off.

“It really was no trouble. I like to make a whole chicken on Sunday so that I can have leftovers for the whole week. Makes my life much easier,” he said, and Louis scrambled to find a carving knife. 

“What to do the honors?” He asked Harry, who clapped his hands together.

“Sure. What part do you want, Lilly?” He asked and the girl pointed to the thigh, which Harry cut whole for her. “There you go, little lady,” he said with a flare and she flashed him a bright smile, which soon faded when he put the vegetables on her plate.

“I don't like those,” she said, looking to Louis for help.

“But they taste just like the chicken now,” Harry insisted and she shook her head. “I'll leave them on your plate if you change your mind. Louis? What do you want?”

“The breast, please,” he said and put his plate forward. Harry served him and himself, finally sitting down to eat.

“It's yummy, uncle Harry,” Lilly told him, a little bit of the chicken skin stuck to her cheek.

Harry smiled. “Why thank you,” he said and brushed it off her face.

Louis took a bite and his eyes closed at how good it tasted. “Harry, really, mate. It's amazing,” he said and Harry blushed a little. “Lilly won't wanna eat what I cook her ever again,” he joked and Harry chuckled.

“I like your food, daddy,” she told him quickly. 

“Thanks, love,” he said and closed his fingers together. To that, she closed her mouth to chew.

“Do you live by yourself, Harry?” Louis asked, pouring them all juice. It was the only way Lilly would eat fruit.

“Yeah. Moved out of my parents' house a couple of years ago. In London I would have gotten a flat, but you can't find those here, so an extremely pompous house for a single man it is,” he joked and all Louis could focus was on the word single. Of course it probably meant single as in unmarried, not as in not having a partner, but well, it was nice to daydream. 

“Where is your house?” Lilly asked him.

“Over there,” Harry said and pointed to their right.

“Oh, so the pool is yours?” She asked, eyes wide. “We can see it from daddy's bedroom.”

Harry looked at him with a raised brow and Louis shoved more food into his mouth. 

“Yeah, I have a pool. Do you like to swim?” He asked, taking a sip of his juice. 

“Yes! May I go play in your house?” She asked, eagerly, looking at both of them.

“Sure, anytime you want,” Harry said with a smile and Louis carefully considered his next words.

“We can go one day when Harry is not too busy, we don't want to bother him,” he said and she sank down on her chair. She knew whenever he said “one day” it actually meant never. 

“It won't bother me at all. I like to spend quite a bit of time in the water, and the more the merrier,” he said and Louis smiled, grateful. 

“You're spoiling us,” Louis said, and it was true.

“Just welcoming my new neighbors,” he replied, and Louis could swear he saw a smirk creeping up on Harry's lip. It was probably wishful thinking. 

“What's your favorite color?” Lilly asked Harry completely out of the blue.

“Green, and yours?” He didn't miss a heartbeat.

“Pink!” She proudly announced. 

“What's your favorite animal?” Harry asked.

“Dogs!” She replied enthusiastically.

“I like giraffes,” Harry said, and Louis watched in amazement the conversation playing out in front of him. He didn't even mind that they were completely ignoring him for the sake of their private chat. He discovered that Harry's favorite fruit was banana, his favorite cereal was cornflakes, his favorite dessert was cake, his favorite holiday was Halloween and that he loved to play outside as well. 

He was truly in awe as Harry talked to her about the silliest things, answering all her questions. She was so focused on the conversation that she ate several bites of carrot that Harry was feeding off of his plate. He'd have to congratulate him for that.

“How old are you?” He asked her, and she announced loudly that she was four but almost five. “How old do you think I am?” Harry asked her, and she frowned.

“How old are you, daddy?” She asked, turning her attention to him for the first time in almost ten minutes. 

“I'm twenty four,” he said and she looked back and forth from Harry to her father.

“You're younger than daddy,” she finally said.

“I am. What numbers come before twenty four?” He encouraged her.

She stared at him for a while before answering. “You're sixteen!”

Harry chuckled. “Far from it. I'm twenty two,” he said and Louis' fork scraped the plate. They both turned to look at him. 

“Let's stop bothering Harry with the interrogation, shall we?” He asked his daughter.

“What's in-integarration?” She asked.

“It's interrogation, and it means asking a lot of questions,” he patiently explained. 

“But I just want to see if I have things in common with Harry to be his friend,” she explained to him as patiently as he had explained it to her.

“Do you wanna be my friend, Lilly?” Harry asked and she nodded. “Well that's easy. Come give me a hug and kiss and we'll be friends,” he said with a smile and she got off her chair and climbed on his lap, hugging him so tight Louis could see her arms flexing around him. “What a nice hug,” Harry said and she kissed him loudly on the cheek. He chuckled, “and a nice kiss, too,” he said and kissed both her cheeks. “There, now we're friends.”

She slipped off from his lap and looked at Louis with bright eyes. “Now you hug and kiss him too, daddy, so you can be friends too.”

“I...I...” he stuttered, but Harry was already getting up from his chair. Feeling his palms immediately damp with sweat, he got up too and walked the two steps separating him and Harry. The curly-haired man smiled and licked his lips. Louis swallowed dry. 

The tall man opened his arms and Louis stepped into the hug, bringing his arms around the man's waist. He was solid and warm and Louis struggled to keep his eyes open when Harry softly ran his open hands up and down Louis' back affectionately.

“Kiss him, daddy,” she urged Louis and God, he didn't know if he should thank her or put her in time out for this. He quickly pecked Harry's cheek and stepped away, but not quick enough to keep him from smelling the green-eyed man. He smelled of after shave and of bed warmth. 

“Now we're friends, Lou,” Harry said to him with a smile and Louis nodded.

“I guess we are,” he said and leaned on the table for support. “Are you done eating?” He asked, doing his best to sound casual. “I'll load the dishwasher if you are,” he explained.

“Yes, I'm done,” Harry said, looking very pleased with himself.

“Great. Lilly, help me,” Louis asked her, and Harry interrupted.

“No, I can do this,” he said.

“No, it's Lilly's responsability to help me with the dishes,” he explained and Harry nodded, sitting back down at the table. He felt eyes on his back as he rinsed the plates and utensils and she carefully put them in the dishwasher. He rinsed the glasses and handed them to her before looking back to find Harry watching them.

“What else do you do to help daddy, Lilly?” He asked.

“I make my bed and dust,” she said. “I don't like dusting.”

“Neither do I,” Louis whispered to Harry when he passed by him and Harry laughed. 

“Good to have a little helper, huh?” Harry asked and Louis winked at him. Harry's eyes lit up and Louis felt heat flaring inside his stomach. 

“May I have some icecream, daddy?” Lilly asked him, clinging to his leg and looking at him with pleading eyes.

“Sure, love,” he said and she smiled and ran to the fridge. She put the stool and reached for the freezer, struggling to open the door. Louis refrained from helping her.

“She's so polite and well mannered. I don't think I've ever heard a child say 'may I' to anything,” Harry said as they both watched her getting the icecream out of the freezer and the bowls from the low cabinets.

“I try,” Louis said, trying to hide the pride in his voice. “We still got a long way to go. She can have quite the smart mouth.”

“You seem to be doing a great job so far, especially on your own,” Harry commented and gave Louis' shoulder a light squeeze. 

Louis beamed at the compliment. It was always nice to be appreciated, particularly when he doubted himself every step of the way. Was he doing too much, too little? Was he being enough of a parent for her? Did he make up for her mother's absence?

“Help me, please,” she asked him and Louis took the scoop from her hands, grunting himself to spoon the hardened icecream into the bowls. 

“What's your favorite icecream flavor, Lilly?” Harry asked, mouth full.

“Chocolate,” she answered, and the brown melted chocolate icecream around her mouth was proof of that. “What's yours?”

“Pistachio, have you tried that?” She shook her head. “I have some at my house, maybe you can try it when you come for a swim, as long as your daddy is okay with it, of course” Harry briefly looked at Louis who smiled just a little, so that only the younger man noticed it.

Her eyes lit up and she scooted closer to him at the table. They were fast becoming friends, and Louis hoped he could be just a little more than that to him.


	3. Chapter 3

Louis considered himself to be a cool and collected person. He'd had his fair share of stressful situations throughout his life, and he was proud to say he'd managed to deal with them with maturity and reason. 

Which meant absolutely nothing when you had a hyperactive child who wouldn't sit still for a minute to get her hair done and you were running late, and it was her first day in a new school and you had to be there extra early to talk to the staff. Phil had been gracious enough to hand in all the necessary paperwork Louis had sent him by mail so that his daughter could be transferred to a local school, and Louis would be damned if she showed up on her first day looking like she'd just rolled out of bed.

“Lilly, for the love of God, sit still for a minute,” he pleaded, sitting on her bed with his back against the wall and her in between his stretched and open legs. She was bouncing, trying to reach her backpack – a new one Louis had bought her, in hopes of getting her excited about the new school. That was money down the drain, because the little girl had barely slept a wink in anticipation.

Huffing, Louis opened Youtube on his phone and looked for a random Shopkins unpacking video. She was weirdly obsessed with those, and he hated to have to resort to such means to get her to sit still, but a French braid, which she had requested almost ten minutes ago, was not gonna braid itself.

As she entertained herself, he skillfully braided her hair, adding small butterfly clips to the end of it. It looked professionally done, if he could say so himself. It's what happens when you have a handful of little sisters and a busy mother. 

“Let me see, daddy,” she told him and he snapped a picture and showed it to her. She grinned widely.

“Do you like it?”

“I love it, thank you,” she said and touched it gently with the tips of her fingers. Louis smiled at her and snapped a shot of her whole outfit for the day – a flowery white dress with her favorite pair of pink sandals. She smelled fresh from her morning bath and ready to face the day. Louis wanted to hug her and never let her go. He didn't, of course. He let her play with his phone while he dressed himself and out the door they were, right on time.

The school was a ten minute walk, and Louis promised to himself he would walk her every day, only driving if the weather was too terrible. Luckily for him, it was sunny and she was in a mood to skip, which always got them to places faster. 

“What is my teacher's name?” She asked him, looking up at Louis and adjusting the straps of her backpack, that she insisted on carrying herself. 

“I don't know yet darling, we'll meet her today,” Louis answered truthfully. He didn't know much about the school either, but he trusted Phil's word that it was a great one.

“Look, daddy! It's Harry,” Lilly said, pointing to the other side of the street. He was running, a look of deep concentration on his face as he inhaled though his nose and exhaled through his mouth. His hair was in a bun and the clothes seemed to be the same from their bakery encounter the day before. Louis held her hand tighter in case she had the idea of running across the street to say hi. She had different ideas. “Harry! Harry!” She started to scream, waving like a maniac. 

Harry had earphones in, but she was yelling so loudly that he must have heard something, because his head turned to their direction and he smiled, looking both ways before crossing the street to meet them. 

“Hey Daisy,” Harry called to her when he stopped in front of them. He looked up at Louis and smiled, mouthing “hi”. Louis had to greet him and look down at his feet from the warm way Harry was looking at him. 

“Lilly, Harry. Lilly,” she corrected him with a giggle and he gently touched her shoulder in greeting. “I would hug you, but you'll say that I smell,” he joked.

“I'm sorry I said that, it was not nice,” she said, suddenly serious. “Daddy talked a lot to me about it.”

“Oh, did he?” Harry turned his attention back to Louis.

The shorter man shrugged his shoulders. “The whole 'if you don't have something nice to say don't say anything at all' thing,” he explained and Harry nodded. His dimples were showing and Louis squirmed a little.

“Your hair looks nice, Lilly. Did daddy do it?” Harry asked the little girl.

“Yes! Daddy is good with braiding.”

“Do you think he'd braid mine?” Harry teased, looking at Louis when he said that. His smirk was devious.

“If you say please,” she replied.

“Right, I'll keep that in mind,” he said and winked. Louis chuckled.

“We have to get going, it's her first day at the new school,” Louis explained and Harry nodded.

“Don't wanna make you late, then. Bye Louis, bye Lilly,” he waved at them and was off running. 

Louis felt flustered for the rest of the walk. His daughter was babbling away and he replied with well pointed 'hums' and 'oh really', but he wasn't paying that much attention, if he was being honest. He checked the name of the street and saw, from a distance, a building that was clearly a school. They all have their aura around them and this wasn't an exception. 

The front steps were empty of people. It was still early for children to arrive for the day, and Louis gingerly opened the door, peeking inside. Lilly didn't have such qualms about being silent as she burst through the door, her anxious feet loud on the floor. 

 

A woman wearing a pair of jeans and a blazer over a white shirt appeared from a door and greeted them with a smile. Louis smiled back and walked towards her, stretching out his hand.

“Mr. Tomlinson?” She asked and he nodded. “I'm Julia Koening, we spoke on the phone,” she said and shook his hand.

“It's nice to meet you, Miss Koening,” Louis greeted the school's principal. She seemed too friendly for a principal.

“This must be Lillian,” she said and crouched down in front of the little girl.

“Say hello, Lilly,” Louis urged her, and to his utter relief she shook the woman's hand and gave her a shy smile. “What do we say?” He reminded her.

“It's nice to meet you,” Lilly said in a small voice. 

The woman beamed at her. “It's nice to meet you too, Lilly. Are you excited about going to school here?”

Lilly nodded, her smile more honest. The woman stood up and addressed both of them. “I'm sure Lilly will love it here. We have a great team and her classmates are great kids.”

“Who's my teacher?” Lilly asked, curious. 

“It's Mr. Payne. Come, let's go meet him,” she stretched out her hand and Lilly took it, both following her down the hall.

“Oh, it's a man?” Louis asked, surprised.

“Yes,” she frowned. “Is that going to be a concern? I can assure you he's very qualified for the job.”

“No, no problem at all,” Louis was quick to say. “You just don't see many male pre-school teachers, that's all.” 

“You'll like him, Lilly. He's a very good teacher,” she told the girl.

“Is he angry?” She asked, fearfully. She wasn't very fond of a teacher she'd had, who wasn't very patient and yelled more than necessary. Louis could never blame her. God knew he'd go crazy dealing with a room full of kids for four hours every single day. 

“Mr. Payne is not angry,” she said and stopped in front of a classroom door. Louis peeked inside and saw the clusters of desks, all small with equally small chairs, arranged in groups of four. The walls were decked with art from the students, colors exploding from everywhere. On a wall there was a shelf filled with crafts materials, all impeccably organized, and another shelf with toys and blankets.

Walking around, putting papers and crayons on the desks, was a man that Louis immediately liked. He was wearing dark jeans, a plaid blue shirt and his hair was styled in a quiff. He had a beard and soft eyes, and was humming to himself. 

“Mr. Payne?” The principal called, and his eyes went to the group by the door. He focused on Lilly and his whole face lit up in a smile. He resembled a teddy bear, Louis thought crazily to himself.

“Well, hello,” he chanted. “Are you Lilly?” He asked, ignoring Louis completely and turning his full attention to the little girl who was slowly stepping away from her father's legs. She nodded. “I couldn't wait for you to arrive, Lilly. I can promise that you don’t have to worry, you will like it here and you will have a lot of fun with all the other kids,” he said and she smiled.

He turned his attention to Louis. “Hello, you must be Lilly's dad. I'm Liam Payne” he said, the smile on his lips not faltering for a second.

Louis shook his hand. “I am, Louis Tomlinson,” he replied, watching as his daughter walked slowly around the colorful room. “It's nice to meet you.”

“It's great to meet both of you,” he said. “Do you mind if I keep working as we talk?” He said, getting back to setting the desks for the day.

“No, please,” Louis said and the principal's phone rang. She excused herself and left them alone.

“Tell me, Lilly. Do you know your letters?” He asked and the little girl shyly shook her head.

“She knows most of them. She can count to forty, too,” Louis explained.

“That's awesome, Lilly. Here, will you please help me?” He said and handed her a handful of crayons. “Can you put a blue crayon on every desk?” He asked and she nodded. 

Liam watched her carefully as she selected all the blue crayons from the ones he'd given her. 

“Light blue or dark blue?” She asked and he grinned.

“You choose,” he said and she favored the light blue ones. 

A weight had been lifted from Louis' shoulders as he realized how great of a teacher Liam would be to her. Attentful and fun.

“Do you have any questions about the school, Mr. Tomslinson? I'm sure Julia can answer all of them, but if you have any for me, shoot,” he said with a friendly smile and Louis thought about it.

“How do you handle all these kids?” Louis said, counting at least fifteen desks in the class.

Liam barked out a laugh. “With a lot of patience and courage, to be honest,” he replied and Louis chuckled. “They're great, though. Fewer tantrums than you'd think. Let me say, we put children who are misbehaving in time out. I hope that's not going to be a problem,” he said, suddenly concerned.

“Please, I do the same at home, it should be no problem. Lilly is well-mannered and polite most of the time, but you know kids.”

“I do, yeah,” Liam said with a chuckle and Louis smiled at him. 

Julia went back into the room and called Louis. “May I have a word with you about the school?” She asked and Louis was quick to follow her out of the classroom, glancing behind him as Lilly started to follow Liam around the class, asking him questions he couldn't hear. 

“Let me show you around,” she told him and guided him through the building. She showed how the smaller kids were kept separate from the older ones and that they had different break times. She showed him the fully accessible bathrooms and playgrounds. It had a jungle gym, two slides, three sets of swings and see-saws, and more balls thrown around that he could count. He pitied the person who had to pry kids away from the place when it was time to go back to class. 

She showed him the infirmary and assured him the nurse was qualified to handle the majority of mishaps kids are bound to have, and told him they would only call if it was a real emergency as to not interrupt his work day. 

He bought three sets of uniforms for Lilly – he wasn't always on top of laundry – and answered several questions about Lilly's abilities. Yes, he was completely able to go to the bathroom by herself, had no problem with utensils and could change into her clothes with minimal help. She wasn't allergic to any food, only amoxicillin. She had no problems following directions and could socialize after the ice was broken.

“She's going to fit right in, I'm sure,” the principal told him with a smile and Louis could only hope so. 

More kids were arriving at the school by the time they came back to class. They found Lilly standing by Liam's desk, talking as he handed her a stack of papers to separate in piles of three. 

“It's time to say goodbye to daddy, Lilly,” Julia said and the girl walked over to Louis with a smile on her face. She motioned for him to crouch and he got down to her level.

Hiding her mouth in her hand, she whispered in Louis' ear. “I like Mr. Payne.”

“You do?” Louis whispered back and she nodded. “Are you going to be a good girl and do what he says?” She nodded. “Are you going to be nice to your classmates?” She nodded again and he pulled her in for a hug that was much tighter than he'd anticipated.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before letting her go. “I'll come pick you up for lunch, okay? I love you, peanut. Have a great day.”

“I love you too, daddy. Bye,” she said and walked back to her teacher.

“Call me if you have any problems. I work from home and can come anytime she needs me,” Louis told him and the man nodded.

“Will do, Mr. Tomlinson.”

Louis waved them goodbye and the principal walked him out. He thanked her profusely and said his goodbyes.

The walk back to his home felt lonelier than he was expecting. It was truly a beautiful day, close to summer break, and he took his time to walk around the blocks surrounding his house, familiarizing himself with the geography of the place. He met a couple of neighbors, one who lived right at the end of his street and had a daughter the same age as Lilly, who also went to the same school and who also had Liam Payne as her teacher.

If he was just a little upset he didn't run into Harry again, he kept it to himself. 

He called his mum and his boss, in that order of importance, and started to work in the office he'd set up next to his bedroom. He was always amazed at how much work he could get done when he was alone, and he always left the things that needed his concentration to be done in the mornings, so that he could still work but also keep an eye on Lilly in the afternoon. 

It was a pretty good set up, he thought. And he could see the backyard from his office, and he suspected she was going to spend a lot of her time outside. 

He was completely focused on his work when he heard music coming in through the window. Perking his years, he recognizes an AC/DC tune, and walked to his bedroom to look at Harry's house. 

Louis groaned, he honest to God groaned when he saw Harry. He was sitting by the pool, in the shade, with his laptop on his patio table and a frown on his face as he typed away. He wore a pair of loose track shorts and a flimsy white t-shirt, which Louis figured he shouldn't even bother because it was so thin he could see the outline of his tattoos under it. 

His hair was damp and his curls draped beautifully over his shoulders. He was completely focused on what he was doing, but his barefoot feet were tapping on the floor in the rhythm of the song. Louis sighed and went to his office, all his concentration gone from the sight of that beautiful man. 

He still worked, and he still managed to get a decent amount of things done before his phone chimed, reminding him it was time to pick Lilly up from school. 

From the street he couldn't hear the music coming from Harry's backyard, and he slapped himself mentally for even being thinking of him.

He got to the school before the bell rang and chatted with the mums also waiting for their children. He was the only man there, but it wasn't his first rodeo in a situation like this. They were polite enough not to bring it up, and before he knew it he spotted a blonde head of hair coming down the steps in a hurry to meet him.

She clung to his legs before he picked her up and propped her on his hips.

“How was your day, love?” He told her, rubbing his nose on her cheek. She giggled and kissed him loudly on his face.

“It was so fun, daddy! I met this girl, Lucy, and we're friends!” She told him excitedly. “That's her!” Lilly pointed at a dark-skinned girl with a bright yellow bow on her head, who was waving at them. He recognized her mother and was happy to know it was the family who lived right at the end of the street. 

“We had chocolate milk for lunch today, and an apple and bread with jam,” she told him and he listened to her attentively as he looked at Liam Payne coming down the steps to meet them, greeting parents politely on his way.

“How was Lilly today?” Louis asked, and the man smiled.

“An absolute angel, weren't you?” He said and the girl beamed. “She got on really well with the kids, especially Lucy. She followed every direction to a tee and had a lot of fun during break,” he said and Louis smiled. His heart fluttered with pride for his daughter.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Payne. I appreciate all the effort you've put into making her feel comfortable.”

“Just doing my job,” he said with a dismissive wave. “We'll see each other tomorrow, right Lilly?” He said and she nodded. She beckoned him closer and gave him a peck on the cheek. He smiled and crunched his eyes.

“Such a doll,” he told Louis one last time before going back into the school.

On their walk home, Lilly barely stopped to breathe in her excitement to tell him all about her day. She talked about the plaque with her name that Mr. Payne had made and put on her desk, which nobody else was allowed to sit on. She told him about the songs they sang and Louis himself had almost memorized the lyrics when they arrived home.

Louis decided he'd already done a lot of work for the day and spent the afternoon playing with his daughter outside. They had a water balloon fight and rolled around in the grass, not caring about the green stains that would be a pain to wash off. They played fighting, something he'd always imagined himself doing with his kids, and she lost her breath from laughing so much when Louis pinned her down and attacked her sides with poking fingers. 

By the time dinner rolled around and it was bed time, she was exhausted and happy. Louis didn't finish reading a single page before her body went slack next to his and her breathing was soft.  
He gently removed himself from her, gave her a kiss on the forehead and was walking to the door when she mumbled.

“Monsters, daddy.”

With a sigh he came back and checked under her bed and inside the closet under her watchful eye.   
“Nothing,” he told her and gave her another kiss. “Sleep well, love. I love you.”

“I love you too, daddy. You're the best daddy in the whole world,” she said and yawned, closing her eyes.

Louis' eyes filled with water as he walked out of her room, leaving the door slightly open. His love for her filled him with golden light and he felt warm and fuzzy inside. 

The next day they ran into Harry again. If Louis adjusted his time to leave the house in order to bump into him on the street, he didn't have to tell anyone.

“Who's your teacher?” Harry asked Lilly, taking big gulps of his water bottler. Louis tried not to stare at his throat as he swallowed.

“Mr. Payne,” she told him excitedly.

“Ohh, he's a really nice man, isn't he?” Harry said.

“You know him?” Louis asked, surprised.

“Louis, everybody knows everybody here,” he chuckled. “But Liam and I grew up together, we were pretty much neighbors. He's a great teacher.”

“Lilly likes him.”

The little girl, dressed in her yellow and red uniform, nodded enthusiastically. 

“What about you? Do you like the neighborhood so far?” Harry asked, and Louis almost didn't answer because a drop of sweat had made its way down Harry's neck, and he was following it wet the neck of his t-shirt.

“Everybody is great, yeah,” he said, clearing his throat. 

Harry looked amused. “Listen, how do you feel about coming for a swim this Saturday? I'm not working, are you?” He asked Louis, and he would have said no even if his job depended on it.

“May we go daddy, please?” Lilly was grabbing the hem of his t-shirt and looking up at him with eyes that were bigger than her face.

“Sure, if we're not intruding,” Louis said tentatively, and Lilly squealed with joy. Harry grinned.

“Not at all, it'll be my pleasure.”

“Lilly can't swim, though. She still needs floaties,” Louis told him.

“I have them, I have all sorts of kid's pool accessories,” Harry said and Louis gave him a puzzled look. “I have a goddaughter about Lilly's age, and she lives in the pool when she comes to visit,” he explained. 

“Oh, in that case, great.”

“See you Saturday after lunch, then,” Harry said and waved them goodbye, popping his earphones back in.

Louis was just excited as Lilly to go, if not more. They'd settled into a nice routine throughout the week, one which always seemed to involve running into Harry on the street, and inviting him in for tea when he dropped off some misplaced mail. 

When Louis came to pick her up on Friday he found her waiting by the door with Mr. Payne. She greeted him just as happily, though.

“Hey, peanut. Mr. Payne,” he greeted, “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to let you know Lilly had a fight today with another student,” he said, but he didn't look angry.

Louis felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment. “What happened?” He asked both of them, and Lilly looked down, clearly sensing she was in trouble.

“Harry came to school today, he comes every Friday to read to the kids,” Liam started and Louis wasn't as surprised as he should be when he learned that piece of information. “And Lilly wanted to sit on his lap and wanted all his attention to herself.”

Louis shook his head. This was something he had not anticipated happening. 

“We tried to explain to her that even though they're friends, at the time Harry was there to be with all of the kids, not just her, but she wouldn't have it. She yelled at a student that was playing with Harry and had to be put in time out.”

“I'm so sorry for this,” Louis stumbled his words. “She's never done that before, I didn't -”

“Mr. Tomlinson, it's fine,” Liam said with a chuckle. “She apologized to the boy and Harry, and everything was back to normal in ten minutes.”

“I feel terrible for this,” Louis admitted and Liam put a hand on his shoulder.

“It's not a reflection on your parenting, that's how kids her age are. She's still learning to share, and that includes people.”

Louis was more grateful for Liam's words than he showed. He apologized a few more times and took her by the hand to go down the steps.

“Am I in trouble?” She asked in a small voice. 

Louis squeezed her hand and she looked up, her eyes brimmed with tears. “Do you understand why you were on time out?”

“Because I didn't want Harry to play with the other kids,” she explained. “Because Harry is my friend, but in the school he also plays with other kids.”

Louis smiled at her and she smiled back. “No, you're not in trouble. Are you going to behave better when he comes again?” She nodded and he put his hand on her shoulder. “Then you're fine, peanut.”

Saturday couldn't have come soon enough. They had a light lunch and Louis texted Harry to see if it was okay for them to come. Harry replied with a string of water and beach related emojis that made Louis laugh.

He changed Lilly into her bathing suit, a bright yellow and pink one, lathered her up in sunblock and grabbed one of her towels. He grabbed one for himself, even though he had no plans of being in the water himself, and changed into shorts and a t-shirt. He grabbed the bowl of fruit salad he'd made in the morning and they headed outside. 

Harry greeted them with a smile. “Hi Louis. Jasmine,” he told Lilly and she gave him her usual giggle. “Wait, that's not it,” Harry said, thoughtfully, as he guided them inside. “What letter does it start with, again?” He asked.

“It starts with an L,” Lilly said and his eyes brightened. 

“Lilac!” He said and she burst laughing.

“Lilly!” She told him and he slapped his forehead.

“I'll remember someday,” he said and winked at her. She put her arms around his hip and he ran his hand through her hair, tied up in a simple pony tail.

“Where should I put this?” Louis asked and Harry led them to the kitchen. It was full of modern appliances and spotless. Harry opened the fridge and Louis put it inside, noticing the lieu of fruits and vegetables.

“Thanks for bringing it,” Harry said with a smile. It was so genuine and warm that Louis fell a bit in love. 

Louis looked around him as they made their way to the backyard. The house was simply furnished, the huge sofa looking very comfortable, and Louis could clearly see Harry lounging about after a long day of work. He had to stop himself when he started to also imagine him in bed.

Harry was wearing swimming shorts, the same yellow ones Louis had seen him in, and he felt a little dizzy. Lilly was pretty much skipping when they reached the edge of the pool.

“Daddy says you can't swim, Lilly,” Harry told her, and she nodded.

“I need floaties.”

“Like these ones?” Harry asked and she smiled brightly when Harry picked them up from the lounge chair. 

“Let me,” Louis said as he walked towards his daughter to put them in her arms.

“I've got it,” Harry said, and carefully slipped her arms inside the plastic. “Do you have sunblock on?”

“Yes, daddy put it on both of use before we came,”

“Smart daddy,” Harry said and looked at him. 

Louis was still awkwardly standing by the pool, watching as Harry splashed Lilly with water before he pulled his t-shirt off his torso and slipped into the pool. Louis tried not to stare at the muscles on Harry's back as he moved around, and he bit his lips when his eyes wandered to the V on Harry's hips. 

“Come here,” Harry called Lilly, who sat on the edge of the pool and slid into his arms. 

Harry carried her around with the practice of someone who was used to having a child close to them, and Louis watched for a good few minutes as he walked her around and slowly lowered his body into the water on the shallow end to get her body wet. 

She was smiling and splashing around, squealing when he cupped water on his hand and poured it onto her head.

“Aren't you coming in?” He asked Louis, who shook his head. “Why not?”

“I'm not much of a swimmer, really. Don't know how to,” he confessed.

“You can stay in the shallow part, with us. I'm sure even you could keep your head out of the water here,” Harry joked with a devious smirk and Louis gaped at him before bursting into laughter.

“I don't have swimming trunks,” he tried.

“You can borrow one of mine. Up the stairs, second door to the left. Last drawer in the wardrobe,” he explained and Louis shook his head. “Should I go get them, then?” Harry said, motioning to get out of the water.

“No, it's fine. I'll get them,” Louis said and went inside. 

Feeling like he was snooping, Louis followed Harry's directions and found himself in his bedroom. The bed was made, a dark blue duvet without a single wrinkle on it. By the bed were a pair of running shoes with white socks tucked inside them. 

Louis couldn't help himself going around the bed to take a look at the nightstand on the right side, which he assumed was Harry's. On it there was a book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett called Good Omens. Louis made a mental note of looking for it to read. There was also a small journal and a pen.

Louis still had some manners and didn't pry. He went to the wardrobe and opened it carefully. The smell of clean clothes and fabric softener hit him and he sighed. The clothes were arranged by color and type, and Louis let his gaze linger on the headscarves draped around a hanger. He thought about how Harry would look like all dressedup and shook his head. No time to think about that, especially when he had a shirtless and wet Harry waiting for him downstairs.

He opened the last drawer and pulled out a pair of black swim trunks with thick elastic in the waistband. He changed into them and judged them fit enough to not fall from his hips when they were soaking wet, and jogged downstairs. He found Lilly with a floatie around her waist, which enabled her to stay in the water without Harry carrying her around, and a squirt gun on her hand. 

She was squealing with joy as Harry squirted her with water and she shot him back. Harry was laughing just as hard, and it downed on Louis that Harry truly and fully enjoyed being around her. He was genuinely having fun with Lilly, not in a polite way, but in a heartfelt way. It warmed Louis' heart and he found himself having butterflies in his stomach as he approached the pool. 

He put his shorts on the back of a chair and sat by the edge of the pool. He was sure he was imagining the way Harry's eyes raked over his body and the way his tongue licked his lips before he spoke.

“There's a loaded one for you,” Harry pointed to a water gun next to Louis' body and he picked it up before sliding into the water with both of them.

It was the most fun he'd had in weeks, if not months. Harry was playful and fun, and he managed to divide his attention fully between both of them. 

“What's this, Harry?” She asked him when he picked her up again, tracing the butterfly tattoo on his stomach with her small fingers.

“It's a butterfly, and these are birds,” he pointed to the birds near his collarbones and Louis tried his best not to stare and failed spectacularly. 

“Why did you draw them on you?” 

“Because I like the way they look,” he explained to her and she paid attention when he showed her the rest of his tattoos. Louis laughed when she made a face at some of them. He did have a couple of stupid ones. 

“Daddy has drawings on him, too,” she said proudly.

“I can see them, yeah,” Harry looked at him, smile gone from his lips. 

Lilly absolutely adored Harry, and they were in the water for literal hours before Harry announced it was time for a break to eat.

They sat on the table by the pool and enjoyed the fruit salad Louis had brought. Lilly carefully picked out the grapes and apple pieces, the only fruits she'd actually eat. Louis didn't push her. They were having fun and he didn't want to pick a fight.

Her eyelids were drooping by the time they finished eating. Louis felt tired and could only imagine how she felt. “I think it's time for us to go,” he told Harry. Harry looked disappointed, but nodded. 

“Lilly looks tired,” he said and the girl slowly winked at him.

“Let's go home, Lilly,” Louis said, getting up from his chair. 

“But I want to swim more,” she protested weakly. When Louis held out his arms, she wrapped herself over him and rested her head on his shoulder. 

“Thank Harry for having us over and letting us play in his pool,” Louis instructed her. 

“Thank you for letting us play over, Harry,” she said tiredly and Harry smiled fondly at her.

“Any time you want, love.”

“Thanks a lot, really,” Louis said as he picked up his shirt and put her towel around her body and headed for the door. “I'll wash and return your swimming trunks as soon as possible,” he told him and Harry shook his head.

“Keep them, I have more than I need,” he said and Louis nodded. His breath was caught in his throat when Harry leaned in his direction, his face so close Louis could see the light stubble on his upper lip and smell the chlorine in his hair. Harry kissed Lilly's cheek softly and stroked her hair before stepping back. 

“Bye, Lilly. Bye, Lou,” he said and all Louis wanted was to get a goodbye kiss as well. 

Louis and Lilly took a quick shower to wash off the pool water and he put her down for a nap. He felt his eyes closing with exhaustion as he made them tuna sandwiches for dinner. It was past seven o'clock and she was still sleeping. She wouldn't sleep at all during the night if she kept going, so he gently woke her up.

“Lilly? Love?” He called her, gently stroking her hair, which was a rat's nest for drying while she slept. She stirred awake. “It's time for dinner.”

“'M not hungry,” she mumbled, grumply.

“Come on, let's eat something,” he said, and pulled the thin sheet from her body. 

“No, daddy. It's cold,” she told him, and Louis frowned. 

“What are you talking about, love? It's not cold,” he said and touched her face. Then he knew. She had a fever. Not a very high one, but still. “Love? You have to get out of bed, we'll take a bath, yeah?” He said and she shook her head. 

“Already had one,” she told him and he picked her up. 

“Yeah, but we're dirty again.” She wrapped her arms around him and let herself be carried to the bathroom. He took her to his room and started to fill the bathtub with lukewarm water. He put her favorite salts in the water, that smelled like vanilla and flowers, and took off her clothes. He removed his own clothes, keeping only his underwear, and picked her up. 

He braced himself for when he sat down and her body touched the water. She screamed and clung to him.

“It's cold, daddy!” She whined and he soothed her with gentle rubs on her back and face. She was crying and his heart broke. The water was perfectly fine, but he knew she felt it way colder than it actually was. 

“Just for a little while, baby. Hang on,” he told her. She was still sniffling against his neck, but her grasp on him was getting weaker. In a few minutes she pulled away from him, and Louis smiled weakly at her. “Does your belly hurt?” He asked and she shook her head. “Does your throat hurt?” Another shake of her head.

Louis pulled her close again and could feel her body hot against his. He gritted his teeth and pulled out his phone from the pocket of his discarded clothes on the floor next to the tub. 

It rang a few times before his mum picked up.

“Louis!” She greeted him excitedly.

“Hi, mum,” he said and her tone immediately changed. 

“What's wrong? Is Lilly okay?” She asked, voice loaded with concern. 

“She has a fever, she's not feeling very well,” he explained. His daughter was playing with the hairs on the nape of his neck and listening to her grandma's voice on the phone to Louis' ear. 

“Have you given her a bath?” She asked. 

“We're in the tub right now, but it's not working. She's feeling hotter than before, but I haven't measured it yet.” 

“Are her eyes glossy?” She asked and he pulled her face away just a little to look into her eyes. 

“Not really, she's just upset. Her stomach doesn't hurt and neither does her throat.”

“What did you do today? Did she eat anything different?”

“We didn't eat anything different, we spent the day in the pool.”

“Oh,” his mother said and his heart sank. “It could be her ears.”

“Does your ear hurt, love?” He asked her and she slowly nodded. “Which one?” She pointed to her right ear. “It's her ear, mum.”

“Well, it could be an infection, but maybe not yet.”

“I don't have any medicine for earaches,” Louis said.

“Give her something for the fever, and some painkiller if it hurts too much. You can take her to the doctor in the morning if she's not better.”

Louis nodded and her mother gave him the name of some medication that he should use as soon as possible. He thanked his mother before hanging up. God bless her and her cool head in situations like this. 

“Does your ear hurt too much, love?” He asked and she shook her head.

“Just a little,” she said and he kissed her cheek before picking her up and stepping out of the tub. He dried both of them and put her in comfortable pajamas. He brought her downstairs and put her on the sofa, handing her his tablet with a cartoon on. She picked it up and stared at the screen. She wasn't lethargic, not yet.

Louis got the medicine and measured it accordingly, before going back to the living room with a glass of water. She never had problems taking medication, and she made a face but didn't complain when the bitter taste hit her tongue. 

Louis ran his hand though his hair as he sat down and thought about what to do. Lilly snuggled up to him and he kissed the top of her head. He wanted to run to the drugstore and pick up the medicine, but he didn't want to take her with him. She was already in pain and he didn't want to drag her out of the house when it was already dark. 

With a sigh, he called Harry.

“Hello,” he answered with a cheer in his voice that Louis found adorable.

“Hi, Harry,” Louis said, and Lilly looked up. 

“Hi, Louis. What's up?” He tried to hide the concern in his voice. Louis had his number, yes, but he'd never called him before, just a text or two. 

“I was wondering if you could do me a favor,” Louis started.

“Sure, anything,” Harry promptly responded.

“Lilly's not feeling very well, and I need to get some medication from the drugstore, but I don't want to leave her alone. Could you maybe, please, pick it up for me? Or watch her while I run to get it?” 

“Yeah, of course. Sure, yeah,” he said quickly and seriously. Louis could hear him fumbling with something on the other side of the line. “I'm on my way, what medication is it?”

Louis spelled it for him and Harry was clearly on speaker as he could listen to the rattle of the belt and the muffled sound to his voice when he probably slipped a shirt over his head.

“I'll be there as soon as possible.”

“Thank you so much, Harry. I'm so sorry to bother you, but I have literally no one else to turn to. If it were for me I would wait until morning, but with Lilly I can't-”

“Nonsense, it's no trouble at all. Anything else you want me to get?”

“Nothing, just the medicine, thank you.” Louis said and Harry hung up.

Louis looked at his daughter and his heart clenched in his chest. He pressed his lips to her forehead and felt her skin just as hot as before. He tried to calm himself because it would take a while for the medication to work, but he felt jittery. 

Harry arrived fifteen minutes later to find Lilly sipping hot chocolate and eating small bites of a chocolate chip cookie. 

“I can't thank you enough for this, Harry,” Louis said as Harry handed him the bag with the medicine in it. It also contained a small bag of gummy bears, and Louis smiled to himself. “How much do I owe you?” He asked, but Harry shook his head. Before he could insist, Harry interrupted him.

“How is she doing?” He asked, coming inside the house, and Louis could swear he looked as anxious as Louis felt. 

“Just an earache,” he said and Harry walked to the couch, kneeling in front of her.

“Hi, Lilly,” he said, and she smiled weakly.

“You remembered my name,” she said.

“Course I did,” he said and smiled. “That cookie looks delicious, can I have a bite?” He asked and she nodded, handing it to him. He nibbled on a piece of it and she giggled when he tried to bite it again and she kept it out of his reach. 

Louis couldn't contain the feeling growing inside him. Watching the two of them interact all day had made him feel things he'd never felt before. A longing he thought he'd never feel, to have somebody to be with him and Lilly, just like Harry was. He was a self-sufficient person and prided himself on taking care of her alone, but right now he wished he had somebody to take care of her with. Somebody to share it all, the good and the bad. 

“Does your ear hurt?” He asked and she nodded. 

“Grandma said it's because of the pool.”

Louis could tell the second Harry processed this information as his face was enveloped by guilt. His whole demeanor had changed, and he sat back on his heels and looked down. “Oh,” was all he said. 

“Hey, don't be like that,” Louis was quick to say. 

“I think I sprayed water in her ears all day,” he said, voice low, and Louis realized he blamed himself.

“No, Harry. It happens all the time, kids get sick for silly things,” he assured him. He walked over to them on the couch and his hand touched Harry's shoulder. He squeezed it gently and Harry looked up at him with a smile. 

“Will you stay with me a little?” She asked quietly, and Harry looked at Louis who nodded with a smile.

“Sure, love. I'll stay for a bit,” he said and sat by her on the couch. “What are we watching?” He asked.

“Peppa,” she said, and Harry hummed and fixed his eyes on the screen in Lilly's hands. 

Louis took the chance to read the leaflet that came with the medicine and did the math in his head of when he'd have to use it again. 

Again, Lilly didn't complain when he put three small drops in both of her ears. It didn't hurt and she wasn't too bothered by it. Louis honestly didn't deserve her. 

She finished her milk and Louis sat on the other side of her on the couch, very much aware of Harry's body close to him. They didn't say much, focusing on soothing the little girl between them. She started rubbing her eyes a few minutes later.

“Sleepy?” Louis said and she nodded. He knew it was a side effect of the medicine and wasn't worried. “I'll put her in bed, I'll be right back,” he told Harry and carried her upstairs. She was already asleep when Louis laid her down gently and kissed her before covering her up with the sheet and turning on the lights. She didn't feel as warm and Louis breathed a sigh of relief. 

He found Harry waiting by the door. “No, don't go,” he said before his mouth could catch up with his brain. Embarrassed, he quickly added. “I mean, have you had dinner yet?” He asked and Harry smiled.

“Yeah, right before you called,” he said. 

“Oh,” Louis's brain was working a million miles per hour to find an excuse to ask Harry to stay, to not leave him alone with a sick kid and worrying himself sick. 

“I can stay for a beer, though,” Harry saved him, and Louis thanked any gods above that he'd actually bought a pack in his most recent grocery trip.

“Yeah, sure,” Louis went to the kitchen and Harry followed him, sitting at the table. Louis grabbed two bottles from the fridge and a couple of glasses before sitting down opposite him.

“I still feel like this is all my fault. I didn't let her head under the water a single time, but it never even occurred to me that she could get an infection just by splashing around,” Harry said and Louis wanted to reach out and touch his hand.

“It's not your fault, I told you. If I felt guilty every time she hurt herself or got sick because of something I did, I'd be in an asylum by now,” he joked and Harry smiled. Louis watched the way he pursed his lips to take a sip of the bottle, not bothering with the glass. 

“Yeah?” He asked.

“Like, when she was learning how to walk, I got distracted for a second and she lost her balance and cut open her forehead on the corner of the coffee table. There was so much blood and I was so scared I rushed her to the hospital immediately, and all the time I kept thinking they were going to take her away from me for neglect or something. The nurse laughed right at my face when I told her about my concerns and assured her I was a decent parent. It turned out she didn't even need stitches and was all a big scare.”

Harry was pinching his bottom lip with the tips of his fingers as Louis spoke, focused on him and him alone. Louis felt his cheeks turn pink.

“I don't know how you do it alone, honestly.”

“It's not like I had a choice, right?” Louis joked but Harry was serious.

“You had her when you were pretty young, huh?” Harry commented and Louis nodded. “How old was her mother?”

“Twenty, as well. Well, she was still nineteen when she got pregnant,” he answered, and took a sip of his drink. 

“Is she alive?” He asked and Louis nodded. “I'm sorry, I'm asking awfully personal questions.”

“It's fine,” Louis said with a wave. And it really was. “We were both twenty and needless to say, it was an accident. Hell, we'd only done it a couple times, just once without a condom.”

“That's all it takes,” Harry said with a smirk and Louis nodded.

“Only once, yeah. But when you're nineteen you think it's not gonna happen with you. Have you ever been in a situation like that?”

“You never have to worry about it when you're having sex with only men,” Harry replied and Louis swallowed dry. There it was, the answer to a question he'd been mulling over for the past week. 

Taking a deep breath, he commented on what he hoped was a casual tone. “I think maybe that's why I prefer men, too.”

Harry's eyes widened just enough to show Louis his surprise, but he was quick to regain his composure. “Does Lilly have contact with her mum?” Harry asked, and if he sounded a little out of breath, Louis didn't blame him. He felt light-headed as well.

“No. We decided it would be like that for a while,” he said, and debated if he should reveal more. Harry was completely focused on him, leaning forward to listen to him. “When she got pregnant we didn't want to be parents, neither of us. We weren't actually a couple and didn't want to be stuck to each other for the rest of our lives, so we decided to not continue the pregnancy,” Louis admitted.

Harry didn't say a word and didn't look judgmental, so Louis continued. 

“Today I can't even believe I considered it, you know? When I look at Lilly and think about what my life would be like if she weren't in it, I want to cry,” he said honestly, and Harry nodded in understanding. 

“The night before her appointment, I couldn't sleep. I called her in the middle of the night, ready to beg her not to go through with it. It was totally up to her, I knew that, but I was willing to talk to her all night long to convince her not to. Much to my surprise, the first thing she said when she picked up, on the first ring, was that she didn't wanna do it anymore. I was so relieved I think I cried a little bit,” he admitted with a smile and Harry smiled back. 

“But she still didn't want to be a parent. Even I wasn't sure I wanted to, but when she mentioned giving her up for adoption I just couldn't- I couldn't imagine giving my own baby away to another family when I was perfectly fine to raise her. So we settled that she was giving up her rights to be with the baby and I was going to be the only parent.”

“That must have been a difficult decision,” Harry pointed out.

“The most difficult of my entire life so far. I didn't even tell my mum about it until she was six months pregnant and we couldn't hide it any longer. I thought she was going to kill me.”

Harry chuckled. 

“And that was it. She gave birth to Lilly, we signed all the paper work and she was mine and mine alone,” Louis said with a smile. “Her mother finished school and I took a semester off. Then my mum helped me take care of her as I studied my last two semesters. It all worked out pretty well.”

“You're so lucky to have her,” Harry said and Louis couldn't agree more. 

“I am. She's too good for me, I'm not half the parent I should be for her,” Louis confessed.

“What are you talking about?” Harry asked with a frown. “You're more than enough of a parent.”

“Some days I think so, some days I just-”, he stopped himself. “When she's being particularly difficult and I lose my temper and we both feel angry and resentful, I stop and think about every poor choice I've made as her father. I question every single decision I've made for her, because really, every single decision I make in my life is because of her. And then some days she just won't leave my side and tell me she loves me and that I'm the best daddy, and I think that maybe, just maybe, I can be enough.”

“Don't belittle yourself like this, Louis,” Harry's tone is almost stern when he speaks. “She's a great kid. She's smart, she's obedient, she's compassionate and she's healthy. She's funny, Louis. How much better can it get?”

Louis smiled in spite of himself. It was exactly what he needed to hear, that he wasn't a complete fuck up and that his daughter was okay. “She's really great,” he admitted.

Harry smiled and finished his beer with a big gulp and stood up. “Thank you for opening up to me like that,” he said.

“Thank you for listening.”

“Can I say goodbye to Lilly? I promise I won't wake her,” he said and Louis grinned. 

“After you,” he said and Harry went upstairs, Louis following him close behind. 

He watched Harry tiptoe to her bed and touch her cheek in the lightest of touches. 

“Feel better, love,” he whispered so low Louis could barely make out the words he was saying. With a last kiss to her forehead, he stepped out of the bedroom.

“She doesn't feel warm anymore,” he whispered to Louis, close enough that Louis could feel his breath on his face. 

“Good, yeah,” Louis whispered back. Harry didn't step back right away. Instead, he looked at Louis' face, eyes so green they sparkled in the dim light of the hallway. Louis held his breath and looked at Harry's lips, the wild urge to kiss him almost too much to bear. 

He bit his lips when Harry stepped away and turned to go down the stairs. It took Louis a couple of seconds to get his legs to move, but he followed Harry to the door and opened it for him.

“Thanks for running down the shops to get her medicine,” he thanked him again, leaning against the door when Harry stepped outside.

“You're welcome. Call me if you need anything, okay? Even if it's the middle of the night,” he said, and Louis nodded. “Good night, Lou. I'll drop by tomorrow to check on her,” he said and walked to his house.

Louis watched him take the short few steps and waved back at him when Harry stopped for a second before going in. 

He turned on his heels and went upstairs, sitting on the floor by his daughter's bed and ready to face a sleepless night. Thinking of Harry brought more comfort than he dared to admit.


	4. Chapter 4

Louis was the worst father in the whole world, and he knew it. He tapped on his phone for the millionth time in the last half hour, willing time to slow down, but it was useless. His boss was happily chatting away on his phone, completely ignoring him, as he sat in his old office in London.

There was no way he was going to get to Holmes Chapel in time to pick his daughter from school. He knew he was in a time crunch, but he'd done it a couple of times before in the last two months and he always managed to get there on time, even if he had to speed a little and go straight to the school.

But he wasn't going to be able to do that today. He still had to go over half the paperwork he'd brought for his boss to see and he should have left at least ten minutes ago. With a sigh and feeling like the biggest failure and worst parent to walk the earth, he dialed Lucy's mum, Kristen.

“Hello,” she picked up in the second ring.

“Hi, Kristan? This is Louis, Lilly's dad.”

“Hi, Louis, how are you?” She said in a pleasant tone. Lucy and Lilly had become best of friends and Louis had gone over to her house so the girls could play a few times, the same way she'd gone to his. She was a nice, friendly and responsible woman, and Louis had grown very fond of her. Her husband was the typical workaholic, but he loved his family like crazy and Louis admired him in many ways.

“I'm doing great, you?”

“Everything's fine,” she said and waited for him to speak again.

“Hum, you're going to pick Lucy from school today, right?” He asked, hesitantly.

There was a pause. “No, I'm afraid not. John has the day off from work and we've decided to go to London on a spur of the moment thing, Lucy loves it here. Why do you ask?” She said politely.

“Oh, never mind,” he said, faking a light tone. “Silly thing, enjoy your day,” he said and hung up.

He stared at his phone and opened the texting app. Harry's name was at the top of the list, as it had been for the past month. He considered it for a moment, biting his lips. He glanced at his boss, who didn't look like he was going to hang up soon. With a sign, he called Harry and put the phone to his ear.

Harry picked up on the last ring, when Louis was just about to hang up.

“Hi, Lou,” he said, a little out of breath.

Louis smiled with closed lips. “Hi, Harry. How are you?”

“I'm fine, yeah. Just came inside, forgot my phone in the kitchen. What's up?”

“I kind of need to ask you for a big favor, are you too busy?”

“Not at all, what is it?”

His helpful tone made Louis smile even more. “I'm stuck in London, I don't think I can leave for another hour at least,” he took a deep breath, closing his eyes, “I was wondering if you could pick Lilly from school today? I can't make it in time, and I called Lucy's mum but she can't either, and just the thought of her waiting for me alone at the school breaks my heart.”

Louis could hear the smile in Harry's voice when he spoke again. “Don't worry, Lou. I'll be there to pick her up when the bell rings.”

“Thank you so much, Harry. Just plop her down in front of the TV with a bag of crisps and go back to your work, I know this is a terrible inconvenience for you.”

“Nonsense, it'll be no trouble at all. A good excuse for me to have a break, my back is killing me.”

Louis closed his eyes and tried not to think about Harry's back and how he wanted to knead any knots away with his fingers.

“I can't thank you enough for this, Harry. Honestly, you've been of so much help to us.” He saw from the corner of his eye his boss hanging up and walking towards him. About fucking time. “I have to go now, thanks again.”

“You're welcome. Bye, Lou.”

In between talks with his boss Louis managed to call the school to let them know Lilly would be coming home with Harry that day. He was organizing copies of the documents for his boss when his phone chimed with a text. He opened and grinned, shaking his head in disbelief.

It was a selfie Harry had taken of him and Lilly, both with orange slices in their mouths, pressing their lips in a way that it covered their teeth in an orange smile. Without even realizing it, he saved it as the background picture of his phone, replacing the previous one of Lilly in her first day of school outfit.

He didn't have to speed when coming back, knowing Lilly was in great hands. He stopped by the drug store to pick up some more band-aids - they were almost out of those. Lilly was always playing outside and getting small scrapes and cuts, and she would only stop crying when he put a colorful band-aid on it, no matter how small it was.

He stopped mid-track when he walked by the part of the aisle with condoms. He thought for a long moment. He hadn't bothered to buy them in months, barely remembering the last time he'd needed one. A bloke in London was the cause for last time, but it wasn't very memorable, he thought with a grimace.

Not that he was thinking of doing anything with Harry. Well, he was thinking about it, in more lonely nights than one. With that in mind, he picked a pack of his favorite brand and a small bottle of lube. He was almost out of his because of said lonely nights.  
He left the bag in the car when he parked in front of his house and went straight to Harry's place, knocking on the door.

“Come in,” he heard Harry call from the inside.

He opened the door and walked to the kitchen, to find them both sitting at the table with various sheets of paper on it and a variety of colored markers.

“Daddy!” Lilly screamed and got off from the chair, running to him with a huge smile on her face.

“Hi, peanut,” he woofed when she crashed into him and picked her up, pampering her face with kisses. “Daddy missed you,” he said as she giggled.

“Missed you too, daddy,” she said and he put her back on the chair.

“Thank you so much for picking her up and watching her, we'll be out of your hair right now,” he said to Harry and the man smiled brightly.

“Don't worry about it. We had a nice lunch, did the dishes, watched a little bit of TV and now we're coloring,” he explained. “We're having a blast.”

Lilly grabbed a bright green marker and held Harry's arm. And that was when Louis saw it. Harry's arm was completely covered in a variety of colors and shades, all around and on his tattoos. Louis blinked and gaped.

“Lilly, what are you doing?” He asked the little girl, who was just about to draw a long stripe on Harry's forearm.

“I'm coloring,” she explained patiently, and Louis took the marker from her hands.

“You're coloring Harry?” He asked, still in disbelief.

“It was my idea, Lou,” Harry intervened, showing Louis the artwork his daughter had done. “I quite like it, doesn't it have a pretty watercolor effect to it?” He said with a smirk and Louis laughed.

“You spoil her too much,” he said without a single hint of seriousness on his tone. He loved that Harry was so patient and protective of Lilly, as if she were his own. “Let's go Lilly, we bothered Harry to much today already.”

“But I wanna swim in the pool, daddy! Harry wouldn't let me, said he needed your permission,” she pleaded.

“Some other time, peanut. Let's go.”

He saw she was going to throw a tantrum the second her bottom lip quivered and her eyes filled with water.

“Lilly, let's go,” he said firmly, extending his hand to her. She shook her head and the tears started falling.

“No! I wanna play in the pool!” She screamed.

Louis pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.

“I said no, Lilly. Let's go,” he said and took her hand. She squirmed until he let her go.

“Daddy said no, Lilly,” Harry's firm and deep voice made them both look at him. He had a stern expression on his face that Louis had never seen before. Lilly was also too stunned to keep her tantrum going and Louis took his chance to pick her up and lead her to the door.

“I'm sorry if I crossed some boundaries,” he said lowly to Louis.

“No, it was fine. Very effective,” he said, honestly impressed. He walked outside and Harry followed them.

“Do you need any help for Saturday?” Harry asked as Louis put Lilly on the floor, the girl sniffling as he talked to the green-eyed man.

“No, everything's settled. Pretty much everybody confirmed that they're coming.”

“Are you excited about your birthday party, Lilly?” Harry asked her cheerfully, and the girl let out a small smile. “Are you?”

“Yes, I'm going to have a coconut and pineapple cake,” she said excitedly, back to her happy self.

“It sounds yummy, can I have two slices?”

“You can have as many slices as you want!” She replied loudly and Harry laughed, bringing her close to him and running his fingers through her hair affectionately.

Louis smiled fondly at both of them, and took his daughter's hand to guide her back to their house.

“Bye, Harry. See you later,” Louis and Lilly waved at him and Harry waited for them to go inside the house before closing the door.

The week flew by in a blur of preparation for the party. Louis would not relive the nightmare that it was her first one, when he'd gone all out and stressed himself to a point of sprouting a couple of grey hairs.

When Friday came, her actual birthday, Louis woke up early and got himself ready before going to her bedroom to wake her up. He slowly and silently slid the bike he'd bought for her and leaned it against the door opposite of her bed.

Unable to contain his smile, Louis kneeled by her bed and ran the back of his fingers on her cheek. She really was a beautiful child, as partial as that sounded coming from him. And now she was five. Louis' heart ached, but just a little.

When she was still a baby all he could wish for was that she stayed that way, that she never grew out of that cuteness and charm. The same thing happened when she became a toddler and he swore it was the most infuriating and amazing time of his life. But he'd learned along the years that each new phase brought something along with it that was incredible in and on its own, and he longed for how things would be now that she was way past her toddler years and more into her own person.

“Lilly? Wake up, love,” he said softly and she yawned, opening her eyes just a little. She stretched her arms in a silent plead and he hugged her. “What day is it today?” He asked with a grin and she smiled widely.

“It's my birthday,” she replied, small voice heavy with sleep.

“It is,” he said and pulled her into his lap. It was a trick of his mind, he knew that, but she felt bigger and heavier. “Happy birthday, peanut.”

“Thanks, you too,” she replied without thinking and he laughed, shaking his head.

“I've got a present for you,” he said and her eyes opened wide. She rubbed the sleep from them and sat up straighter.

“What?” She asked, looking around. When she saw the bike, purple and blue and with a pretty bow, she jumped out of Louis' lap and walked to it, her hands running along the shiny metal. “It's so pretty, daddy! Thank you!” She said and when she looked at him Louis realized he'd nailed his choice for a present.

He'd always wanted to give her a bike, she'd always asked for one, but he couldn't take her out to ride in his street, and there was not nearly enough space in their old, tiny flat to keep it. It still had its training wheels on, but he was hoping they could come off, soon. Good thing he was stocked up on band-aids.

“May we go outside to ride it?” She asked, and Louis smiled brightly.

“Sure, let's get you changed and you can ride it to the bakery for breakfast,” he suggested it and she jumped in excitement. “Let's chose your outfit for the day, yeah?” He asked and she went to the wardrobe to find something to wear.

She chose a pair of pink jeans shorts and a white t-shirt with a drawing of a kitty on it. It wouldn't look half bad, Louis thought. She changed into them alone and he fixed her hair quickly, her excitement getting into him. He watched, amused, as she rolled the sleeves of her t-shirt a bit, just like Harry did.

She used the bathroom and washed her face and cleaned her teeth. Too eager to ride her bike, Louis fixed her hair in a quick high bun.

They were out the door in a few minutes and she couldn't contain her excitement to ride her new bike. She was a natural at it, testing the brakes like he instructed and happily riding along Louis as they walked to the bakery.

He was a little disappointed that they hadn't run into Harry there or on their way.

“Where's Harry?” Lilly asked. “It's my birthday, I want to see him,” she told him and he nodded.

“Me too, love. We'll see him later, right? What do you want to eat? You can order anything you want.”

“Anything?” She said with a wicked smile.

“Anything that's on the menu,” he specified. They reached the counter and the little girl greeted the employees warmly. She'd grown fond of them now that they've gone there a couple of times.

“I'll have a coffee and a ham and cheese sandwich, please,” he ordered and turned to Lilly. “You, love?”

“I'll have a chocolate cookie and a doughnut, please,” she said proudly and Louis giggled. She was smiling brightly, very pleased with herself.

“And to drink?” He asked and she scrunched her face in thought.

“An orange juice with no sugar, please,” she said and Louis rolled his eyes. Another of Harry's doing, obviously. It was really hard to pretend to be bothered by it.

“Someone's having a delicious breakfast,” the lady told her when she brought them their order.

“It's my birthday today,” Lilly announced.

“Oh really? Happy birthday, then,” she said with a smile and Lilly thanked her.

Louis was happily munching on his breakfast, watching Lilly gulp down the food in front of her. “What do you want to do today?” He asked her. “We can do anything you want. Well, almost,” he finished with a raise of his brow.

“Don't you have to work today, daddy?” She asked and he shook his head.

“Nope, cleared my day just for you,” he said and the smile she gave him was worth the extra hours he'd have to work the next week.

Lilly's birthday landed smack dab in the middle of summer vacation, and she never got to spend it with her classmates. Louis could relate to that tremendously, and he also knew she'd appreciate it more when she was a teen.

They finished breakfast and Lilly decided she wanted to spend her day with Lucy. Already predicting that, Louis had arranged with Kristen to bring her daughter over so they could play.  
At nine o'clock sharp, the bell rang and in came an excited little girl, who rushed to hug Lilly screaming happy birthday at the top of her lungs.

“Thanks for having us,” she said with a smile as he motioned for her to go inside. The two little girls ran outside immediately, Lucy barely glancing at Louis. “I didn't know if I should give Lilly her present today or tomorrow, at the party.”

“You shouldn't have bothered with a gift,” Louis said and the two adults followed the little girls outside. They were up on the tree and Louis caught the glimpse of concern on Kristen's face. It soon faded and she gave Louis her full attention once again.

The girls played for literal hours, and Louis' ears were ringing from their loud singing and screaming. Lilly whined just a little bit when Lucy's mum announced they had to go, but the promise of going out for lunch after Lucy was gone was too much for her to resist.

She rode her bike to the small restaurant and while they were eating, Louis' phone chimed and he smiled at who the message was from.

_Got Lilly a present. Can you come over so I can give it to her?_

Louis typed a quick reply.

**out for lunch will call u when we get home**

“Is that Harry?” Lilly asked with hope in her eyes.

“Yeah, we're coming over later,” Louis said and her eyes sparkled.

“Do you think he has a present for me?”

“I don't know, but we shouldn't be expecting presents from everybody, right?” He said and she nodded.

“Let's go then, daddy. I miss Harry, I wanna hug him,” she said with a half pout and Louis giggled.

“You just saw him yesterday,” he pointed out.

“For like a minute,” she replied and the sass in her tone made Louis snort and water flew out of his mouth in a spray.

Lilly giggled like mad, catching the attention of the people at the tables around them. Louis should tell her to use her inside tone of voice, but he was too busy laughing along with her and then spraying her with water on purpose. It made her cackle even more and he thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to leave the restaurant before they were kicked out. Lilly had no objection to go and meet Harry.

They found him sitting outside his door, apparently waiting for them. When Lilly spotted him she jumped off her bike and ran to him. He caught her and held her tight against his chest.

“Happy birthday, sunshine,” he told her and she smiled.

“Thank you, Harry,” she said and Louis could see in the way Harry was looking at her how much Harry cared about his daughter. It made him happier than he thought possible.

“Got you this,” he told her and handed her a flower. A lily, of course.

She brought it up to her nose and gave a big whiff. “Thank you,” she said and he hugged her again, his smile just as big as her.

“Such a charmer,” Louis mumbled, loud enough for Harry to hear. It was teasing, and Harry smirked.

“I got one for you, too,” Harry said, getting up and giving Louis a daisy. “Stolen from the grumpy neighbor down the street.

Louis honest to god blushed. Harry noticed it and smiled wickedly.

“What do you say, daddy?” Lilly asked him and both him and Harry giggled.

“Thank you, Harry,” he said and put the flower in Harry's hair, behind his ear.

It was Harry's turn to blush, but he turned to Lilly and pouted his lips. “How do I look?”

“Pretty,” she replied seriously.

“Oh, I've also got something else for you,” he said and handed her a piece of paper. “Can you read it?”

She got the paper and squinted. “That's an F, right daddy?” She asked and he nodded. The paper had the word 'sofa' written on it. “So it's an S, O, F and A.”

“What does that read?” Louis encouraged her and she thought for a moment before announcing loudly.

“It reads sofa! Right?”

Louis smiled fondly at her. “That's right, peanut,” he said and she looked at Harry.

“Go to the sofa, see what you find,” Harry told her and she ran to it, Louis and Harry following close behind. There was another piece of paper with a drawing on it.

“Thought the word 'wardrobe' would be too difficult for her to read,” he confided in Louis as she showed him the paper.

“May I go upstairs?” She asked and Harry nodded.

She was out in a flash, and when they caught up to her she was holding another piece of paper. “The bathroom!” She said and dashed for it downstairs.

“This is such a fun idea, thank you so much for putting it up,” Louis said and he honestly meant that.

“Loved treasure hunts growing up,” Harry confessed with a smile. They found Lilly exiting the bathroom with another paper.

“Does it read 'pot', daddy?” She asked and Louis checked the paper and nodded. She ran to the kitchen, laughing loudly, and Louis followed her. They found her getting a pan from the table and taking out a big wrapped teddy – from the shape of it.

She tore the paper quickly, her hands moving fast in her haste. Her eyes lit up and she squealed when the rainbow teddy bear was revealed. It was bigger than the one she had, but they were clearly a match.

“Do you like it? Thought he could be friends with the one you already have,” he said and she hugged the teddy tightly and walked over to Harry.

“Thank you,” she said and he got down on one knee so she could kiss his cheek. “I love you, Harry,” she told him and Harry blinked a few times before his face melted and he closed his eyes when hugging her.

“Love you too, Lilly,” he told her, voice low and honest. Louis felt like crying.

It didn't seem like a big deal to Lilly, though, as she quickly made her way to the couch and put the teddy on her lap, talking to it and squishing it.

“Thanks for all you're doing for her, she positively adores you,” Louis said and Harry smiled brightly.  
“Well, the feeling is mutual,” Harry said with a grin. “I also like you a little bit, too,” he said, looking at Louis as if he was expecting him to say something.

Louis had gotten quite good at keeping his brain functioning while around Harry. He had to, otherwise he'd be the freak who couldn't be around an attractive man to save his life, but right now his brain failed him.

He just stood there, his mind screaming for him to say something, but his mouth unable to form a coherent sentence in the English language. Harry bit his lips and lowered his gaze. Louis mentally punched himself in the face.

“Tomorrow is the big party, huh?” Harry told Lilly, going over to her and ignoring Louis for the time being.

“Yes! You're coming, right?” She asked.

“Wouldn't miss it for the world. Grandma is coming as well, huh?” He said and she nodded happily. She'd only seen her grandmother one time since they moved, a few months ago.

“Harry, I-” Louis started but Lilly cut him off.

“I already told daddy that you get two slices of cake if you want,” she assured the man sitting beside her on the couch and he laughed.

“How many are you having?” He asked her back, ignoring Louis completely.

“Five!” She said loudly.

“One for each year? That's a lot. I was going to bring you a treat later tonight, but if you're going to eat that much cake tomorrow maybe I shouldn't,” he teased and the little girl's eyes widened.

“A treat? What?”

“It's a surprise,” he said and she giggled.

“I like surprises.”

“Me too,” he said and kissed her cheek.

“Come on, Lilly. We should go,” Louis urged her. “Harry's got to work,” he said, knowing that would convince her. She knew how important it was to give her daddy peace so he could work, had learned from a very young age, and she respected it when it came to Harry as well.

“Thank you for the present, Harry,” she said and hugged him once again.

“You're welcome, love.” They both stood from the couch and walked to the door. “I'll drop by later tonight for her treat, yeah?” He asked Louis, who nodded quickly.

“Sure, of course,” he was quick to say, wanting to somehow reassure Harry that it was okay for him to come, that Louis wanted him to.

He beat himself up for it the rest of the day. It was too hot to play outside so they spent the afternoon inside, playing whatever game Lilly wanted to. Her latest favorite was to see who could touch each other last, and every time she tapped him on the leg or arm and ran away, he chased after her. She squirmed and dodged and cackled the whole time, and he would eventually bop her head or shoulder and run himself, making it difficult for her to catch him.

It was good fun, and they always ended a pile on the floor, him covering her face with kisses until she couldn't breathe from laughing too much. Her hair was a mess and her clothes wrinkled and worn out.

“Daddy, I'm hungry,” she said and he checked the clock. It was almost dinner time.

“Alright, what do you want for dinner?” He asked, brushing his hair out of his face and sitting up on the living-room floor.

“Fish sticks!” She said without missing a beat.

Louis wrinkled his nose. He hated those, thought the last thing in them was actual fish, but he complied. Kids were tough, and it was her birthday after all.

He still had the mind to bake instead of frying them, and fixed them both a nice, fresh cucumber and tomato salad, which was her current favorite. Of course it was Harry who'd managed to get her to try cucumbers for the first time.

Lilly was eating completely unassisted now, and he didn't have to remind her to chew with her mouth closed once. Lost in thought, his mind kept coming back to Harry and how he'd frozen when Harry said he liked him. Well, of course he did, they were friends. He had a feeling it was not what Harry meant, though.

“What are you thinking about, daddy?” Lilly asked him curiously, taking a sip from the glass of water in front of her as she finished eating.

“Nothing much,” he said, smiling. “About your party tomorrow.”

Her eyes lit up. They'd invited all her classmates and the majority of them had confirmed their presence. Lilly also made a special invitation for her teacher Liam, who was more than happy to call and personally confirm to her that of course he would be there.

“I can't wait to-” she started, but the shrill sound of the doorbell cut her off. She immediately sprinted from the table to the front door.

They found Harry on the other side of it, dressed in jeans shorts and a white t-shirt. His hair was tied up in a bun and he looked soft and approachable.

“Hey, love. Brought you your treat,” he said, and handed her a tupperware. She held it in both hands and he opened the lid for her.

“Cupcakes!” She yelled. “Daddy, look! They spell Lilly!”

She showed them to Louis, the white glaze decorated with purple frosting that spelled her name, a letter for each treat. Louis smiled and looked up at Harry, who was biting his lips and shifting his weight from foot to foot.

“They look great,” he said at last, and Harry smiled shyly, but he still wasn't looking at him.

“Worked long enough in a bakery to pick up a few skills,” he said and turned his attention back to Lilly. “They're vanilla and the frosting is strawberry.”

“Yummy,” she said and handed the tupperware to her father, who held it out to her so she could get one. She took a bite and smiled, her lips tainted with purple, and Harry giggled and wiped them clean with his thumb.

“Do you like it?” He asked and she nodded, humming and taking another bite.

“Thank you for those,” Louis said and felt his heart clench when Harry took a step back. He was leaving, he wasn't even coming inside the house.

“My pleasure. Will see you tomorrow at the party, Lilly,” he said and waved, starting to make his way back.

Lilly had her mouth full and was trying to say something. Louis could bet she was asking him to stay.

“Harry!” He called after the man who was already halfway down his drive. He stopped on his track and turned around. “I...I like you, too. Please, come in for a while,” he said in one breath, feeling his body tense with adrenaline.

Harry looked down and bit down a smile. Louis felt his heart flutter when he grinned and his dimple appeared. “Sure, I'd love to,” he said and came back, taking slow steps.

Louis exhaled deeply, and touched Harry's shoulder when he came inside, hoping to God Harry would also get what he was saying.

Lilly monopolized him for the rest of the evening. He taught her how to play rock paper scissors, and she taught him different ways to play patty cake. Louis suspected Harry already knew how to do it, but he indulged her anyway.

She told Harry all about her present and how her grandma and aunts were coming to her party tomorrow, and how much fun she was going to have. Harry, bless his heart, listened to her attentively. He told her a few jokes and Louis laughed at them more than he should. Harry was full of ridiculous puns and Lilly didn't get all of them, but Louis did and was endeared.

It was only when Lilly started yawning that he realized it was past her bed time. He didn't want Harry to go, not when they were all on the floor helping her set a Mulan puzzle he'd brought from his mother's house. Harry was completely focused on the little girl, lips slightly parted and eyes watching her hands setting up the pieces in places.

“Lilly? It's time for bed, love,” he said, at last. He wanted her to have a good night's sleep and be rested for her party the next day.

“But I didn't finish it, yet,” she complained, showing him the still missing pieces.

“We'll finish it some other time. Don't you want to sleep and wake up for your party tomorrow?” He asked and that got her thinking. Slowly, she nodded and piled up the pieces neatly on the center of the puzzle.

“It's my cue to go,” Harry said and Louis' heart sank.

“You can stay, I'll just give her a bath and put her to bed, it shouldn't be long. You can watch some TV or something,” he said and his heart filled with hope when Harry seemed to consider it. He didn't have time to make a decision, though.

“I want Harry to put me in bed,” Lilly said, already taking his hand. Louis' eyebrows went to his forehead.

“Harry is a guest, love, we shouldn't ask him to do that,” he explained.

“I don't mind it. I'm an expert in bed time routines. If you don't mind, it won't be a problem at all,” Harry said with a smile.

“Please, daddy,” Lilly said and Louis sighed before answering.

“If you really don't mind,” he told Harry, whose smile grew. “You might need to help her rinse her hair, but she's fine on her own. I mostly just watch her so I know she's safe.

“Come on, Lilly. Show me your favorite bubbles,” Harry said and the girl led him upstairs. To Louis' bathroom, for sure.

It was the first time in years since she'd let anybody participate in her bed time routine. Not even her grandmother was allowed to do it on her own, Louis always had to be there.

It added weight to the decision he'd made. He was going to tell Harry how he really felt about him, knowing that for once he wouldn't have to worry about bringing somebody to Lilly's life that wouldn't be good for her.

Feeling like he could float away from how light he was, and also barely able to move his legs from nerves, he worked on the dishes from dinner. When he was done, he got upstairs and could hear Lilly giggle even before he got to his bedroom.

He chuckled himself when he found Lilly sitting in the tub hiding beneath way too many bubbles and with an impressively long foam-beard. He full on laughed when Harry, who was sitting on the edge of the tub, turned his face to him and he saw an equally crafted bubble beard on his face.

“We're old men, daddy,” Lilly said and Harry giggled along with them.

“You're hopeless,” he told Harry, a face-splitting grin on his face. “Rinse now, Lilly. It's getting late.”

He walked out before she could protest and heard the water running and Harry telling her to cover her eyes real tight. He tidied up the living room, being careful to transfer the half-finished puzzle to a piece of cardboard, and brought the supplies for the things he still needed to do to the kitchen table.

He went back upstairs to find Harry and Lilly all cozy in bed, her hair almost completely towel-dried and combed neatly. Louis stood silently at the door and watched as Harry read to her, making a different voice for each character and longed for a day they would both be reading to her. He saw his daughter's eyes getting droopy and walked in.

Harry looked up at him with a smile and slowly got up from her bed.

“Came to say good night to the birthday girl,” Louis said and kneeled by her bed. “Sleep well, love. Love you very much,” he said and kissed her cheek, adjusting the blanket around her shoulders.

“Love you too, daddy. Check for monsters, please.”

Louis opened his mouth to say that five year old girls didn't believe in monsters when Harry spoke.

“Oh, you have them, too? In the wardrobe and under the bed?”

Louis' head snapped in his direction. What the hell was he doing?

“Yeah, sometimes,” she said, voice low.

“I used to have this problem in my house, too. Had to check for them every day. You know how I got rid of them?” The little girl shook her head. “Monster spray. You spray a little under your bed and in the wardrobe and they can't come. I still have some in my house. I can bring it for you, if you want.”

She nodded and whispered a thank you.

“You're welcome, angel,” he said and bent down to kiss her. “Sleep well, see you tomorrow at the party,” he said and she smiled, closing her eyes as they both exited the room in silence.

They only spoke when they reached downstairs.

“That was a brilliant idea,” Louis told him and Harry smiled proudly.

“Thanks, it should work. I have some essential oils laying around and I'll mix a little bit of lavrnder with oil, it'll help her sleep.”

“You have oils laying around?” Louis asked mischievously and Harry smiled.

“I do enjoy a good massage session every now and then,” he said and Louis bit his lips. Harry looked over at the kitchen table and saw all the craft items on it. “What's all this?” He asked.

“Oh, just stuff for the party favors. I still have to make up the bags for the kids.”

“How many do you have to do?” Harry asked, eyeing the yarn and candies curiously.

“About twenty five, I guess. Only fifteen children are coming but you know siblings. Always want what their brothers and sisters have.”

“That's very thoughtful of you,” Harry said with a small smile. “Can I help?”

“Oh, you don't have to,” Louis started, but realized the chance he was missing. “But it would help me a lot, I still have to prepare most sandwiches for tomorrow.”

“So I'm in charge of those and you set up the bags, yeah?” Harry said with a smile and went to the sink to wash his hands.

Louis instructed him on how he wanted them and turned on some music, sitting at the table and working on the bags. He had no idea what was going to play on his phone, always put it on shuffle, and part of him dreaded and hoped Harry wouldn't judge his musical taste too much.

Instead, Harry started to lowly sing to Sarah Mclachlan, his deep voice beautiful in the open space. He had his back turned to Louis, spreading mayo on the bread slices and tapping his foot to the slow rhythm of the song.

“Love this one,” he said and hummed to it. A few strands of his hair had escaped his bun and fell to his neck. Louis wanted to brush them to the side and kiss it. The spotlight over the sink made him glow gold, and Louis loved him.

He jumped out of his skin when the song ended and Queen blasted through the kitchen. The sound was turned in low, but Louis was lost in his own reverie and his heart raced.

“Alright in there?” Harry chuckled, turning to face him. “Made a bit of a mess, there,” he said and Louis looked down. He'd dropped a whole container of purple glitter all over the table and hissed a curse.

“Bloody hell,” he said, and that made Harry laugh even more. “I'll find glitter in this house until her next birthday,” he mumbled and tried to scoop up as much as he could with a sheet of paper. Some of it fell to the floor, some landed on his clothes.

“I find glitter to always be a smart fashion choice,” Harry said in between chuckles. He cleaned his hands on a kitchen cloth and walked to Louis to help him clean.

“Thanks,” Louis mumbled, and froze when he felt Harry's hand on his face. The touch was soft and warm, and when he faced the green-eyed boy, all the air got sucked from his lungs. Harry was standing so close Louis could smell him, flowery from his previous beard bubble antics. Underneath it was his cologne, a smell Louis had memorized a long time ago.

“Had a little bit on your face,” Harry explained, voice deep and sweet.

“Fucking glitter, it gets everywhere,” Louis said through dry lips, his mouth seemed to be filled with cotton. Harry moved a fraction of an inch backwards and Louis couldn't allow that. Not when he had the man of his dreams in his kitchen, helping him set up a party for his daughter.

He put one hand on Harry's waist and the other on the back of his neck and pulled the other man to him. Their lips crashed rather than touched, and Louis gasped when Harry immediately responded to his kiss. He tasted of frosting and mint gum. Louis felt strong hands pull him even closer until they were touching head to toe and groaned softly on the back of his throat.

His knees buckled when Harry licked his lips and Louis parted them, giving Harry all the access he wanted to explore his mouth. His tongue was hot and soft and wet, and Louis couldn't get enough of it.

Harry softly bit Louis' bottom lip and he trembled, his legs almost giving out. It'd been so long and Harry was so good at it. Big hands held him in place. “I've got you,” Harry whispered in his mouth, the first word spoken in several minutes, if he could judge by the songs changing.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, and captured Harry's lips once again, standing on his tippy toes and putting his arms around Harry's shoulder, deepening the kiss until they had to pull out to breathe.

“You're such a good kisser,” Harry said, giving Louis small wet pecks on his parted lips and the smaller man smiled.

“So are you, I don't think I've ever been kissed like this,” he admitted, and gave a teasing lick to Harry's lips. The man grunted and pulled him close. Louis whimpered when he felt Harry was hard against his hip. At least he wasn't the only one almost a little too eager.

He pulled the hair tie binding Harry's hair and let it fall down. He felt Harry smile against his mouth when he pulled on the strands, feeling how soft and light they were to the touch. His hands followed the line of Harry's shoulder down his arms. Louis pressed his fingers against his biceps, feeling the goosebumps on Harry's warm skin.

Catching his breath, he felt as Harry's hand slid down his back and reached his bum in the lightest of squeezes. He jerked in surprise and for a reason unknown to him, he giggled. He fucking giggled, and Harry followed him.

“Should I not have done that?” He asked with a breathless laugh, moving his hand back up to Louis' waist.

“No, sorry. I mean, of course. Squeeze away,” Louis said and placed Harry's hand back on his bum and Harry laughed.

“Maybe we should get back to our tasks. Those sandwiches are not gonna make themselves,” Harry suggested with a nibble to Louis' earlobe.

“What?” He asked, honestly confused as to what Harry was talking about. Then it came to him that they were standing in the middle of the kitchen while preparing for his daughter's birthday. “Right, yeah,” he said. Then he kissed Harry again and again, until he felt it was almost enough. He didn't think it would ever be.

It took all his strength to pull away, and he had to adjust his jeans before he sat back down in a somewhat comfortable position. Harry went back to making sandwiches and Louis to setting up the goodie bags. They sneaked a few kisses here and there when they walked past each other, and Louis laughed at Harry's uncoordinated dancing until his stomach hurt.

They were done quicker than Louis would have guessed it, and he was running out of excuses to ask Harry to stay. He had to remind himself that he didn't have to hurry, that Harry was right next door. The thought made him giddy.

“Walk me home, yeah?” Harry joked and Louis nodded, biting his lips. They walked side by side for the few steps it took them to reach Harry's door. “Do I get a good night kiss?” Harry asked with a raise of his brow and Louis chuckled before pressing him against the door and kissing him breathless.

Harry whimpered when Louis' hands found their way beneath the t-shirt on his hips. “I should get back to Lilly,” Louis mumbled and Harry pulled away.

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, of course. Want help setting the place up tomorrow?” Harry offered and Louis opened his mouth to say he didn't, but thought against it.

“I'd love some help, please,” he said and Harry nodded, kissing him one more time before opening the door behind him.

“Good night, Haz,” Louis tried the nickname and Harry beamed at him. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Lou,” Harry kissed his cheek one last time and Louis made his way back to his place. Before coming inside, he looked back to Harry's door and saw the man waving him goodbye. Smiling like crazy, he waved back and closed the door behind him. Next time, he hoped to close it with Harry inside, too.


	5. Chapter 5

“Daddy! Daddy, wake up!”   
  
Louis slowly opened his eyes and found his daughter standing beside his bed, face inches from his own. He smiled and stretched, petting the space on the bed next to him. She jumped over his tired body and sat next to him, cross legged.  
  
She was already dressed in her birthday party outfit – a white and purple dress with beautiful lacing and a bow on the back - and her hair was combed and slicked back. Her breath smelled of toothpaste and Louis smiled at her.   
  
“You're up early,” he said as he glanced at the clock, that read seven fourteen.   
  
“We need to pick up grandma from the station,” she said and caught his hand, playing with his fingers and squeezing them as hard as she could between her palms. “And aunties, too.”  
  
“I'll tell you what, we snuggle in bed until seven thirty, then we have breakfast and then we pick them up, okay?  
  
She laid back and moved closer to him. He circled her with his arms and put his chin on the top of her head. He had a feeling these early morning cuddles were close to an end as she grew older. He was going to hold on to them for as long as he could, hopefully until the night before she was moving out.  
  
“Will Harry come earlier, daddy?” She asked curiously, and Louis smiled.  
  
“I hope so, peanut. He's coming to help set things up.”  
  
“I'll help, too,” she said and he hummed. “I'll decorate the table.”  
  
Louis hummed again, feeling sleepy. Of course Lilly sensed it. “Don't sleep, daddy. We need to make breakfast and get grandma,” she said and he sighed, sitting up on the bed.  
  
“Let's go then, love.”  
  
She made grabby hands at him and he giggled before picking her up against his hip and walking them both down to the kitchen. She was unable to contain her excitement for the party and was begging him to take her for a ride on her new bike, as well. He promised they'd squeeze a ride during the day, and hoped one of his sisters was up for the task.   
  
His mum would arrive at nine with two of his sisters. The original plan was for them so spend the night and leave only on Sunday, but one of the little twins got sick and they were leaving on the five o'clock train, right after the cake was scheduled to be cut. The twin girls were away at a summer event for their school and Louis was sad only half his family was coming. More reason to come and visit them, though.   
  
With mild bribing, Louis convinced Lilly to change out of the fancy dress until the party was about to start and dressed her in a much simpler dress, which he hoped would be comfortable enough to stand the heat.   
  
Louis was doing her hair, a beautiful and intricate pattern that he'd hoped would last until the time of the party. She was too excited to sit still, and he handed her his phone so she could have a distraction.   
  
“I want to let my hair grow as big as Harry's,” she told him when he was pinning a few strands on top of her head to work on the bottom part.   
  
“As long as Harry's, not as big. Is that so?” He asked absentmindedly.  
  
“Yeah, he has pretty hair. Why does he have long hair? All the boys I know have short hair. You have short hair.”  
  
“He has long hair because he likes it. Boys can have long hair and girls short hair, right? It's just hair.”  
  
“Do you like his long hair?”  
  
“I do, yeah. It looks good on him, doesn't it?” He asked with a smile on his face that his daughter couldn't see.   
  
“U-hum. He's handsome. You're handsome too,” she added as an afterthought.  
  
“You think daddy's handsome, huh?” He asked with a laugh. She nodded her head and he kept it still. “I think Harry is handsome, too,” he added and she giggled.  
  
“Of course you do, you keep staring at him. And that's not polite, daddy.”  
  
“I don't stare at him,” Louis defended himself.   
  
“Does, too. You should apologize. Harry too, he also stares.”  
  
“He does?” He asked, amused.  
  
“Yeah, when you're not looking. I asked him about it once and he said you looked nice. That he liked to sit down and admire you. He said admiring means liking looking at something, to think it's nice.” she said and Louis accidentally snapped a headband on her head. “Ouch,” she said, rubbing the spot.  
  
“Sorry. What else did he say about me?” He asked, feeling like a teenager at a sleepover. He couldn't stop the smile that was creeping on his face.  
  
“That you looked nice,” she repeated. “And that you were a good daddy to me.”  
  
Louis bit his lip and shook his head. Leave it to Harry to make him blush while not even in the room.  
  
“All done,” he announced and took the mobile from the little girl's hands to snap a picture for her to see it. Harry's smiling face of his contact profile was on the screen. His daughter must have accidentally dialed his number while playing with his phone. “Hello?”  
  
“You think I'm handsome, huh?” Harry's voice was humorous and Louis felt his cheeks blush redder.  
  
“You weren't supposed to have listened to that, it was a private conversation,” he jokingly scolded.  
  
“True, but I should have known you thought I was handsome from the way you were kissing me last night.”  
  
Louis closed his eyes. He was trying not to think too much about that. It could mean nothing and it could mean everything.   
  
“Lou? You there?” Harry's voice called to him.  
  
“Yeah, just finishing up Lilly's hair.”  
  
“What time should I be there?”   
  
“Around lunch time? You can eat as many sandwiches as you'd like before the party,” Louis joked and Harry agreed to be there at eleven thirty.   
  
“I want to see my hair,” Lilly asked him the minute he hung up. He showed her a picture and she loved it. “Now let's go pick grandma up,” she said excitedly and they hopped into the car.   
  
She was jumping from foot to foot, impatient to see her grandmother. “Where are they, daddy? It's already nine,” she said, looking at the big clock on the wall. It wasn't, and she couldn't tell time like that yet, but she was close enough.   
  
“Calm down, love. They'll be here soon,” he said and saw a bus peeking out from the corner of the street. “Look, there they are,” he pointed and held Lilly's hand firmly in his grasp. The last thing he needed was his child to run rampant in a crowded bus station.   
  
He let go of her hand when the bus door opened and he saw his sister's bleached blonde hair standing out near the bus door. The little girl ran to her and hugged her tightly.   
  
“Lottie!” She screamed, and the teenager laughed and hugged her tight, juggling a big wrapped present in her hands.  
  
His mum and other sister followed and he hugged them all. “Missed you so much, darling,” his mother said and he nodded, holding her even tighter for a moment before letting go.  
  
“Missed you too, mum. We both did,” he said and smiled when his mother cupped his face in her hands and kissed his forehead.   
  
All the women fussed about the little girl, offering presents and hugs and kisses. Lilly beamed at the attention and was skipping back to the car. She sat between her aunts and opened up her present right in the backseat.  
  
“Look, daddy!” She told him excitedly, and he looked through the rearview mirror that his daughter was holding a doll's head with long, wavy blonde hair. It was one of those make up practice dolls and Louis rolled his eyes.  
  
“Gotta start them young,” his sister told him. He stuck his tongue out at her and she did it back to him.   
  
“How are things going?” His mum asked him from the passenger seat, while his sisters entertained his daughter.   
  
“Things are...” he thought for a moment and smiled. “Things are great, mum. We're both making friends and settling in.”  
  
“Good, that's good. Lilly seems happy,” she said, sneaking a glance behind her. “You do, too.”  
  
Louis bit a smile. “I am, mum.”  
  
“Any reason in particular?” She asked, and he kept his eyes on the road. They were almost reaching his house and he didn't need to be blushing like a schoolgirl when they arrived.   
  
“Nope, just. Everything, really,” he answered, and he could feel his mother's eyes burning a hole on his head, as if she were trying to read his mind. Maybe she was, because that was a weird thing to ask. “We're here,” he announced, happy to be out of the confinement of the car.   
  
His family had only visited them once in the two and a half months they'd been living there, and Louis hadn't gone to visit them once. He was busy, he told himself, but it wasn't entirely true.   
  
“Come see my presents, grandma!” The little girl said, pulling the woman by her wrist. “I already got one from daddy and Harry,” she said.   
  
“Oh, let's see,” Louis' mum said and let herself be led to the backyard, where Lilly proudly showed them her new bike and the stuffed bear she'd left by the kitchen door. It had only been in her possession for a day and it already looked a little battered down.   
  
“Did Harry get you this, to match the one you already had?” Fizzie asked.  
  
“Yes! And a flower, too. Daddy also got a flower, but he put it in Harry's hair because he thought he'd look pretty.”  
  
Louis felt three pairs of eyes on him. His sister Lottie was smirking at him and he felt the urge to stick his tongue out to her. Or his finger, but his mother would smack him in the head if he did so.   
  
“Let's start setting things up, right?” He said, maybe a little too loudly than necessary. “Fizzie, help me here,” he said and his sister followed him inside the house as his mum and other sister stayed behind to play with Lilly.   
  
“What do you want me to do?” She asked, for once being nice. She really was growing up.   
  
“Help me move the table,” he asked and they arranged the furniture in a way that the kitchen table was close to the door of the backyard, where most of the food would be arranged.   
  
His mother and Lilly went for a bike ride around the block and both him and his sisters managed to set almost everything in place in a short amount of time. The plastic tables and chairs he'd rented arrived and they put them in the backyard, arranging them in a way that they would stay mostly in the shadow throughout the day.  
  
When Lilly and his mum arrived, they all helped him put the cloths over the table – all rented and in white and purple. The outside was done and it looked rather nice, Louis thought.   
  
They were sitting at the kitchen table when the doorbell rang and Louis' heart sped up. It was ridiculous to feel anxious when Harry arrived, and yet.  
  
“It's open,” he shouted from the kitchen and heard the door click and the sound of his daughter's footsteps running to the door.  
  
“Harry!” She screamed, much like she'd done when the bus had arrived.  
  
“Lilly,” Harry said, just as excited as she was. “Coming up?” He asked and opened his arms to welcome the little girl into them. He picked her up and kissed her on the cheek. “Hey, everyone,” he greeted the people in the room and Louis' mum was the first to go to him.  
  
“Harry, love. It's great to see you again.”  
  
Harry put the little girl down and hugged Louis' mum. “Great to see you again, Jo. You look lovely,” he said charmingly. His mother was endeared.   
  
Both his sisters followed, and Harry greeted them just as lovingly. They'd met him in their previous visit and he'd swept them all with his charm and dimples and everything that made Louis fall for him. He even thought Fizzie had a crush on him, but he wouldn't swear on it.  
  
Louis stood in the middle of the kitchen, watching as Harry interacted with the women in his family. He looked bloody gorgeous in black skinny jeans and a white t-shirt, one Louis started to think of as his favorite on him. His hair was silky smooth down his shoulders, and Louis wanted to grab onto it as he kissed him breathless. He couldn't, of course, with all eyes on him. He hugged him just for a second longer when Harry got to him.  
  
“Hi,” he whispered in Louis' neck, and a shiver ran down his spine. God, he smelled amazing. He pulled back and looked outside. “It looks like everything is settled out back, what can I do to help?”  
  
“I don't think there's much left to do, really. The snacks are done, my mum helped me make the fruit salad and the drinks are in the fridge,” he listed the items on his fingers.  
  
“Did you manage to fit the cake inside the fridge? You were worried about that.”   
  
The look of horror on Louis' face was so genuine that Harry laughed. “You forgot about the cake, haven't you?”  
  
“Shit, I knew I was forgetting something,” he said, running his hands through his hair.  
  
“Don't worry, I'm on it,” Harry said with a smile and started walking out of the kitchen, towards the door.  
  
“Where are you going, Harry?” Lilly asked, following him.  
  
“Just getting your cake, love. Will be back in ten minutes,” he said, and the little girl pouted.  
  
“Wanna come with,” she said, but he shook his head.  
  
“No, you stay with your grandma and aunties,” he argued, but her pout only accentuated.  
  
“Harry, let me come,” she whined, and he looked at Louis, looking for instructions.  
  
“She'll be sulking here the whole time, so if you don't mind...” he said and both Harry and Lilly smiled.  
  
“Let's go, then. Last one to the car is an ugly potato,” he said and the little girl took off running, and he waved them a quick goodbye before running after her.  
  
“Let me give you the money,” he shouted at them and Harry waved his wallet at him.   
  
Louis shook his head with a smile as they closed the door and went to his family to enjoy their company as much as he could. It wasn't always that he had time to hang out with them, and he enjoyed hearing about the gossip in his small town and about Lottie's current boyfriend.   
  
Him and his sister were by the stairs, putting up a chair with a sign instructing guests to stick to the first floor when he heard voices from the kitchen, Harry and Lilly talking excitedly. He walked in and Harry was carrying a big cardboard box with the cake in it with a smiling Lilly right behind them.  
  
“Let me sneak a taste,” he joked, but the smile died on his lips when Harry tripped on nothing and lost his balance. He watched, almost in slow motion, the box slip from his grasp and land on the kitchen floor. “Shit,” Louis mumbled, not bothering to watch his mouth in front of his daughter. He looked at her, ready to see tears in her eyes. Instead, he found her snickering and glancing at Harry.  
  
“What?” He asked, going to the box on the floor and lifting the lid. It was empty, and the second he saw it he heard both Harry and Lilly laughing.   
  
“The cake's in the fridge already, daddy! We just wanted to prank you!” She said and Louis shook his head, his lips a thin line to keep from laughing.  
  
“You shouldn't prank daddy,” he said, but there was not an ounce of seriousness in his voice. He started to walk towards his daughter, who slowly backed up before breaking into a run into the living room.   
  
He followed her, her clear laugh filling his ears and heart. He caught her hiding behind the couch and picked her up, placing loud kisses all over her face. She giggled and wiggled away, only to be put down and run from him again.  
  
He let her go and went back to the kitchen. He found Harry and his sisters still laughing, and he didn't mind being the butt of the joke when they were all happy together.   
  
“You really tricked me,” he told Harry, who looked ridiculously cute with his hands behind his back like a child about to be reprimanded. “But you had the trouble of going out to get the cake, so I'll forgive you,” he said and Harry smiled. “Come here,” he called and Harry followed him into the living room. “Here's the money for the cake,” he said, getting his wallet from the coffee table.  
  
“Don't worry about it,” Harry said with a wave of his hand.  
  
“Don't be silly, here,” he said, pushing the bill in Harry's hand.  
  
“I said don't worry about it. It's on me. Consider it a present for Lilly, then.” He said, pushing the money back.  
  
“You already gave her a present,” Louis argued.  
  
“Fine, then just give me a kiss and we'll be done with it,” Harry said flatly and Louis felt the tips of his ears grow hot. He smiled and looked out to the kitchen to see if his family could see them. Yes, all of them were casting quick glances in their direction.  
  
“Later, okay?” He said and Harry looked back. When he turned around, he had a frown on his face that he was really trying to hide. Louis wasn't exactly out to his family, and although he thought they did have their suspicions, he wasn't ready to throw it in their face just yet. “I'll make it worth the wait, promise,” he said with a smirk and Harry's lips were pulled up in a smile as well.   
  
“I'll hold you to that,” he said and winked before walking back into the kitchen. Louis let out a breathy laugh and hoped to God Harry would do just that.  
  
He convinced Harry to stay even though he didn't need much help. His sisters got Lilly ready for the party and doted on her the whole time. By the time the party was supposed to start, Lilly was dressed in her fancy party dress with her hair done in a completely different way Louis had done in the morning, and her nails were painted a bright pink color. She looked adorable and Louis might have taken nineteen pictures of her before the party even started.  
  
Slowly, the guests started arriving and Lilly was in her element, playing with the kids from her school. Her teacher Liam arrived and caused an uproar on the kids, who wanted him to play with them all the time, pulling him in different directions.   
  
Louis managed to drag him out from them and have an adult conversation with him. He was replaced by Harry, who all the kids loved from story time. There was food and drinks for everybody, and Louis was running back and forth making sure every guest had a full glass and stomach.   
  
Harry was giving him sneaky glances that were filled with promises of a good time much different than the one they were having. Louis found himself staring at Harry, at his lips and how he was always touching them with the tips of his fingers. He wanted to taste them, feel them pressed against his mouth and skin.   
  
“Enjoying the party?” Harry asked, running past him in the kitchen with a wet t-shirt.   
  
“What happened?” Louis asked, looking down at the man's torso, which wasn't his brightest idea, if he was being honest. He pretended the red on his cheeks was from being out in the sun the whole afternoon.   
  
“Jamie spilled soda on me,” he said. “I don't even drink soda and I have it all over myself.”  
  
Louis rolled his eyes. Harry had given him a hard time about giving the children soda. His whole 'it's a party, let them live', argument had reached deaf ears.  
  
“I'm gonna go home and change,” he said.  
  
“You can borrow something from me, if you want,” Louis suggested, and Harry smirked and nodded. “You know where my room is,” he said and Harry's smirk turned devious.   
  
“I do know, yeah,” he said and smacked Louis' bum on his way to the stairs. Louis yelped and giggled, spilling the soda in his own glass on his kitchen floor. Maybe sticking to water would have been a good idea after all.   
  
When Harry returned Louis couldn't help but stare. His t-shirt clung tight to his bigger torso, the black fabric stretching over his shoulder in a way that Louis could see the muscles underneath it moving. The memory of holding onto them just the night before made him close his eyes for a second.   
  
Harry laughed and whispered 'later' in his ear before returning to the party.   
  
It was a great day, Louis thought. All the children were having fun and the adults were all mostly friends, living close to the school in such a small town. Louis enjoyed his family's company immensely and was surprised when his mother reminded him to cut the cake as they had to leave soon. It felt like the party was too short. Maybe it was the company and the two cans of beer he'd drunk.   
  
Harry was in charge of the pictures while they all gathered around the table to sing happy birthday to Lilly. She was stood on a chair, clapping happily as she sang along with everybody, and Harry snapped picture after picture of her standing between Louis and her grandmother.   
  
He took pictures of her with her aunts and Lucy, and was only slightly embarrassed when Lilly wanted a picture with only him and Louis.   
  
It was a beautiful shot. Lilly's hair had become hopelessly disheveled throughout the party and her sweaty hair was stuck to her neck. Harry's shirt was just a little too tight and his hair was also a mess. Louis had a piece of apple peel stuck to his teeth and a smudge of frosting on his arm. He would frame this one.   
  
After the cake was cut and eaten, (Harry indeed ate two slices) the guests started to leave and thank Louis for such a fun afternoon. Lilly was still jumping up and down, too energized by all the sugar she'd eaten – according to Harry.   
  
“I'll drive you to the station,” he told Louis' mother and sisters. They flocked to him to say goodbye and Louis didn't miss the way his younger sister kept running her hands up and down Harry's back when she hugged him goodbye.   
  
“That's a great idea. Thanks, darling,” his mother said and hugged Lilly tightly one more time before pulling away. “I can't wait for you to come and visit, love,” she told her and looked up at Harry. “You're more than welcome to come, Harry. We'd love to have you in our home,” she said and he blushed, stuttering a thank you. It was so adorable Louis wanted to pinch his cheeks. His mother did it for him. “You're so sweet,” she said.  
  
“Goodbye, mum. Get home safe and give the twins a kiss from me, yeah?” Louis said as he hugged her. He hugged his sisters as well, lingering just a little bit longer to their presence.   
  
They left with Harry, and Louis looked down at Lilly, holding his hand out to her. She snuggled against his leg and he bent down to hug her. “Did you like your party?”  
  
“Yes, thank you, daddy,” she replied and he kissed the top of her head.  
  
“You're very welcome, peanut.”  
  
“When can we have another? Can we have one for your birthday?” She asked and Louis laughed.  
  
“We'll see. Maybe we'll go to grandma's for it, what do you say?”  
  
She nodded her head. “Can Harry come, too?”  
  
“I hope so,” Louis said, and meant it. “If he wants to, of course.”  
  
“I think he will,” his daughter said and he only hoped she was right. “May I open my presents now?” She asked, her eyes beaming up at him.  
  
“Sure, show me what you've got,” he said and sat down on the living room floor with her, balling up wrapping paper as she tore them to get to the gifts faster.   
  
Harry arrived back just in time to see her line up her presents on the floor in the order that she liked them most.   
  
“Look at that,” Harry said, sitting down as well. Louis' bare foot touched his calf and he briefly smiled at him. “Such nice presents,” he said in awe, picking up a board game. “This seems fun. Can I play with you sometime?” He asked.  
  
“Yes, please! Let's play now,” she suggested, but Harry shook his head.  
  
“Not now, sweetie. Gotta help your daddy with the cleanup,” he said.   
  
“You really don't have to. You've already done too much,” Louis said, but Harry was on his feet already.  
  
“Don't be silly, it's what friends are for, right?” He said with a bright smile.  
  
“I'll help!” Lilly said and grabbed Harry's hand.   
  
“Let's start with the tables, then, before it gets too dark outside,” Louis suggested, and they all helped remove the table cloths and fold the tables and chairs against the wall so that they could be picked up on Monday morning.   
  
“How can I help?” Lilly asked, and Louis admired her enthusiasm. He himself wanted to take a shower – he felt filthy – and climb into bed.   
  
“Let's do some recycling, yeah?” Harry suggested and handed her plastic plates and cups to rinse in the sink before putting them all in a big trash bag. Louis wanted to send the inventor of disposable party supplies a fruit basket. He had minimal washing up to do, and focused on cleaning the spills inside the house – all thankfully on tiled flooring.   
  
They were done sooner than Louis expected, but it was way past Lilly's bedtime and the little girl could barely keep her eyes open.   
  
“I'll see you tomorrow so we can play with your new toys, right?” Harry asked, crouching in front of her at the door. She nodded sleepily and he hugged her and stood up, facing Louis.   
  
“Thanks for all the help today,” he started, but Harry shook his head and dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “Thanks for the cake, too,” he said and the memory of his promise was fresh in his brain. Lilly wasn't paying them any attention, so he leaned in and briefly touched Harry's lips with his own. It was a gentle and quick kiss, but it made his stomach fill with butterflies.   
  
“See you tomorrow, then?” He asked Harry, who nodded and started to walk away.  
  
“Let's get in the pool tomorrow. We'll put some cotton in Lilly's ears and enjoy the day,” he said and waved them goodbye.   
  
Louis felt his own eyelids heavy when they went upstairs and he gave Lilly a quick but thorough shower. She was a dead weight in his arms when he finished putting her in her pajamas.   
  
“Had fun today, love?” He asked, and the little girl hummed, closing her eyes and sighing. “Daddy loves you very much, sleep well,” he said with a kiss to her forehead.  
  
“Love you, too” she mumbled and was asleep in seconds.   
  
Louis went to his bathroom and scrubbed himself until he felt clean of the sticky sweat on him and bits of grass and food here and there. Then he filled the tub and sank into the warm water, pressing down on the muscles on his shoulders and neck, trying to rub away the soreness in them.   
  
He closed his eyes and his mind immediately went to Harry. He'd promised him to make up for his kindness with kisses, and had done no such thing. God, how he wished Harry had held his words against him. He rolled his cell phone in his hands, careful not to drop it in the soapy water.   
  
Should he call him? It was a stupid idea, it'd been a long day and Harry had screaming children around him all day. But then he thought of the way Harry was looking at him the whole day, the hunger in his eyes that he was sure mirrored his.   
  
He threw the phone on the rug next to the bathtub and tried to forget about the idea.   
  
It rang and Louis nearly had a heart attack. Harry's face blinked on the screen and Louis hurriedly dried his hands before picking the phone up.  
  
“Hello?” He said, voice hoarse from not speaking for some time.  
  
“I know the polite thing to do is to ask you to come over to my house so we can make out, but given the circumstances I'm inviting myself over. Can I come?” He said in one breath.   
  
“Yeah. Yes, please,” he said, and heard Harry laugh a little on the other side of the line.   
  
“I'm coming, then. See you in one minute.”  
  
Harry hung up and Louis sprang from the tub, hurriedly drying himself and running a comb through his wet hair. He put on some tracking shorts and the first t-shirt he found in his closet and headed for the door downstairs.  
  
He opened it just in time to see Harry lifting up his hand to knock.  
  
“Thought it was best to knock instead of ringing the doorbell and almost punched you in the face,” Harry joked, and Louis pulled him in. Literally grabbed him by the t-shirt and pulled him inside, kissing the green-eyed man before he could say anything.   
  
It was a hungry kiss, filled with unkept promises and tongue. It took Louis' breath away, as clichè as it sounded. Harry was a tremendously good kisser and Louis felt drunk with it.   
  
“You smell so good,” Harry said, nuzzling his neck and kissing along his jaw line.   
  
“Raspberry bubble bath,” Louis said and felt Harry's huffed out laugh on his neck. He grabbed Harry's still damp hair, and he smelled clean and fresh.   
  
“Did I interrupt your bath?” Harry asked, leaving a small trail of kisses along Louis' face until he reached his mouth, licking at Louis' lips until he opened them.  
  
“You did, yeah,” Louis said, grinding his hips against Harry's and hissing at the contact.  
  
“Should I come back later?” Harry joked and Louis shook his head. He'd be damned if he'd let this boy get away again.   
  
Harry felt warm and solid and soft against him. He brought Louis closer and put his arms around Louis' waist, squeezing him until his bare feet almost lifted off the ground.   
  
“You're really making it worth the wait,” Harry breathed out against Louis' lips. Fuck, his voice was low and raspy and Louis felt himself getting hard.  
  
“Wanna suck you off so badly. Can I? Will you let me?” He asked Harry, whose grasp on him tightened at the words.  
  
“God, yes. Right now?” He asked, breathless and Louis nodded.  
  
“Let's go to the bedroom, yeah?” He said and grabbed Harry's hand, guiding him upstairs. He was holding true to his word. He was going to really make up for all the kisses he'd wanted to sneak during the day.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty much smut, so you can skip it if it's not your cup of tea!

Louis guided them to the door of his bedroom and stopped right at the threshold. “You can go in, I'll just check on Lilly and I'll be right back,” he said after a quick kiss to Harry's lips. He went to his daughter's bedroom and slowly opened the door. She was sleeping soundly and he breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
He went back to his room, thanking all the gods in heaven for making him put his office between his and his daughter's bedroom, and opened the door to find Harry standing awkwardly in front of his bed, his fingers pinching his bottom lip. Louis could eat him up.  
  
Louis walked in and closed the door behind him, making sure it was locked. The last thing he wanted in the world was for his daughter to come in. They were still working on the whole “knocking and counting to five before entering” and he just couldn't risk it.  
  
“Hey,” he said to Harry, and glued himself to the younger man, feeling how hard he was through the thin shorts he was wearing. He slid his hand down Harry's stomach, feeling the muscles twitch under his touch, and cupped Harry's erection through the fabric, rubbing it with the heel of his hand. God, he was so turned on.   
  
Harry hissed and put his hand behind Louis' neck, pulling his face close and kissing him hard. Louis swallowed the small whimpers leaving Harry's mouth as he rubbed him harder. He felt his body burn with heat and arousal.   
  
“Lou, please,” Harry pleaded, and Louis didn't need to hear another word before dropping down to his knees in front of him. It'd been so long he'd done it for the last time that he felt a bit nervous.   
  
“Take these off, please,” he told Harry, tugging at the hem of his t-shirt. Harry did so, in one swift movement, and his eyes were back to Louis the second the t-shirt went past his face.   
  
Louis bit his lips. He traced the v-line on Harry's hips before letting the very tip of his fingernails trace the laurels on his stomach. Harry shivered and Louis held him still, cupping his bum with one hand and grasping his thigh with the other.   
  
He let his tongue travel across the ink on his stomach, feeling Harry's hand on his hair, treading his fingers gently in the short hair. Harry's body was strong and solid, but his skin was soft and warm.  
  
Louis took a deep breath and unbuttoned Harry's shorts with shaky fingers.   
  
“You nervous?” Harry asked, not a hint of mockery in his voice.  
  
“It's been a while,” Louis admitted. “Wondering if I still got it,” he joked, trying to ease the tension. It worked.   
  
Harry snorted. “I'm sure it's like riding a bike type of thing,” he told him.  
  
Louis unzipped Harry's shorts and pulled them down along with his underwear. His eyes widened and he licked his lips when he saw Harry in his full glory. His cock was swollen and fuck if it wasn't the most delicious cock he'd ever seen. Certainly the biggest.  
  
“Jesus, Harry. Didn't know you were hiding this much,” he said and heard Harry chuckle. He looked up to see Harry looking down and smiling at him. Cocky little shit.   
  
“You can touch it, too. If you want to,” he added a fraction of a second later.  
  
“Don't mind if I do,” Louis whispered to himself and circled his fingers around its base, pumping it lightly and with a loose grasp, feeling how hot and heavy it was. His mouth literally watered.  
  
“Fuck,” Harry mumbled under his breath when Louis started jerking him with a tighter grip while leaving bruises on Harry's hips with his lips. He smelled and tasted of soap, his clean skin rising in goosebumps as Louis slowly worked him with his hand.   
  
He lowered his mouth closer to Harry's pubic hair and ran his fingers through them, letting his tongue swipe a long lick from his base to the tip of his erection.  
  
“Oh, God,” Harry hissed and Louis looked up. Harry was looking at him with glossy eyes and Louis didn't break eye contact when he took him in his mouth, pressing his lips tightly around the head of him. “Fuck, Lou,” he cursed, his eyes fluttering closed for a fraction of a second.  
  
Louis closed his own and sank his head down deeper. The heavy weight and taste of Harry made him moan, honestly delighted. Harry tightened his grip on his hair and Louis moaned louder. When was the last time he was feeling this turned on? He honestly couldn't remember. He was straining against his own shorts and his underwear felt damp from where he was leaking.  
  
He groaned deep in his throat when he felt the salty taste of pre cum on his tongue, and took as much of Harry as he could in his mouth and hollowed his cheeks, sucking hard.  
  
“Fuck,” Harry said, and he bucked his hips. It made his cock touch the back of Louis' throat and he chocked, pulling away to cough. “Oh my God I'm so sorry. Shit, I really didn't mean to do it. Fuck, I'm sorry,” he babbled, touching Louis' head gently and looking so upset Louis had to chuckle.  
  
“It's fine, don't worry. Don't think I can deepthroat you just yet, though,” he joked.  
  
“I'll be still, promise.”  
  
The tip of Louis' ears flushed pink when he spoke again. “You can move a little, if you want.”  
  
Harry cursed and nodded. Louis kept his head still as Harry moved himself in and out of Louis' mouth. Just the head, far from Louis' throat, but he was rolling his eyes and moaning deeply and long. “You look so pretty like this,” he said, voice broken and hoarse. It made Louis whimper.   
  
Louis' cock was so hard it almost hurt him. He palmed it through his shorts and moaned. He was so ready to come.  
  
“No, not now,” he heard Harry speak and looked up. “I'll take care of you in a while, okay? I promise I'll make it good.”  
  
Louis would be damned if he didn't believe him. So he closed his eyes and took control one more time, going faster and swallowing around the younger man deeper. What his mouth couldn't reach, his fingers did the trick. Harry was steadily leaking pre cum and he knew he was close. But he didn't want it to end just yet.   
  
“I'm getting close,” Harry whispered. His eyes were hooded and his lips were parted. They were full and pink and Louis couldn't wait to kiss them again.   
  
“Can I...just a little bit more?” Louis asked, slowing down and breathing heavily. His knees were starting to dig uncomfortably on the carpeted floor and his jaw was getting a bit sore from stretching his mouth so wide, but he wasn't bothered by those things. He was making Harry fall apart with just his mouth and he could easily see himself get addicted to it.   
  
He slowed his hand down and gave Harry's cock small kisses on the head, like he would on his lips, enough to make it pleasurable but not enough to bring him to the edge just yet. His tongue digged at the slit and Harry whimpered. He gave small, kitten licks to the head and Harry was losing it, fast.   
  
“Lou, this is so good,” Harry mumbled, his fingers pulling tighter on Louis' hair. “I don't think I can hold off much longer.”  
  
“Okay. You'll let me blow you again some other time, right?” He said, full of hope.   
  
“God, yeah. Anytime you want,” Harry said, and Louis then concentrated on getting him off. It didn't take much, Harry had been on the edge for quite some time. “So close,” he mumbled, his fingers tugging on Louis' hair, trying to get him to pull his head away. “Se-seriously, Lou. I can't, Jesus, I can't stop it now.”  
  
“Don't want you to,” Louis said, and Harry groaned. He was breathing fast through his nose, biting his lips to contain the moans, but lost it when Louis opened his mouth, placed the head of his cock on the flat of his tongue and jerked him off with fast and practiced strokes, looking up at Harry in anticipation. He was putting on quite the show and it was all worth it when he saw amazement and quiet adoration in Harry's eyes.. Harry moaned then, closing his eyes and coming so hard Louis had problem swallowing around it. Warm and thick ropes of come filled his mouth, and he somehow managed to not let it drip past his lips.   
  
He didn't pull away, kept on stroking Harry until he was sure he had nothing left to give. Only then did he sat back on his heels, catching his breath. Harry still had his eyes closed, and he was shivering all over. His breathing was ragged and labored and his whole face was flushed pink. He looked so incredibly hot Louis wondered how he'd gotten so lucky.   
  
Harry took a couple of steps back and sat on the edge of the bed with wobbly legs. He looked at Louis with eyes that were almost watering. He breathed fast and deep, and he beckoned Louis closer with a shaky index finger. “Come 're,” he said and Louis stood up and went to him. Harry pulled him by the waist and he landed on Harry's lap.  
  
“That was,” Harry kissed him, cupping his face with both his hands. “the most amazing,” another kiss, “blowjob I've ever gotten.” He dipped his tongue inside Louis' mouth and the older man whimpered. “Love it that I can taste myself on your tongue,” he said, voice so sexy Louis felt like he was dreaming. “Up, just a bit,” he said and Louis followed. He'd do anything Harry asked him to, right then.  
  
Harry pulled the shorts Louis was wearing and his underwear down, and Louis stepped out of them. His cock smacked against his stomach, and he wanted to come so bad he was almost in tears.  
  
“Look at you,” Harry said in awe. “You look so fucked and you haven't even come yet.”  
  
His words made Louis blush and he let himself be led back to Harry's lap, straddling his thighs and putting his knees one the bed in each of Harry's sides. “Let me take care of you now, yeah?” Harry said, and Louis cried out when he felt strong hands circle his erection so deliciously firm. “Shh, be quiet, babe.”  
  
Louis shuddered at the pet name, and Harry kissed him deeply, fucking his mouth with his tongue as his hand moved fast, a blur on Louis' lap. Harry didn't stop kissing him for a second, not even when he was so close that all he could do was grab onto Harry's sweat-damp shoulders and open his mouth for his skilled tongue.   
  
“Harry,” Louis whispered, voice so broken he didn't recognize it as himself. He closed his eyes and shot into Harry's hand and stomach, forgetting to breathe and his own name for a moment.  
  
Harry kissed him gently as he came down from his high, and when he opened his eyes Harry was smiling wickedly at him. He giggled to himself and rested his head on Harry's shoulder, hugging him close.   
  
“This was nice,” he whispered against Harry's skin, and the other man giggled. “I haven't had someone else make me come in a very long time.”  
  
“What a shame, you look so beautiful when you come undone like that,” Harry said and Louis looked at him with soft eyes. “And you still got it, just letting you know.”   
  
Louis chuckled and kissed him. “Wanna shower?” He asked, eyeing Harry's sticky hand and stomach.  
  
“Maybe. I was thinking of a wet cloth or something for now,” Harry said with a shrug of his shoulders.  
  
“For now?” Louis asked, tilting his head.  
  
“Oh, Lou,” Harry said in a mischievous tone, “I'm not nearly done with you yet.”  
  
Harry's words made Louis shiver. “You're- you're not?”  
  
Harry shook his head slowly “I said I was gonna take care of you, and I will. This handjob was just to take the edge off. I can make you feel  _so much_ better.”   
  
“Oh, Jesus,” Louis said and Harry laughed, kissing him on the cheek.   
  
“Got any wet wipes?” He asked and Louis nodded, getting up from his lap and going to his dresser. He opened the first drawer, and retrieved a small key from the pocket of a shirt. With it he opened the last drawer of his bedside table and took out wet wipes, lube and the pack of condoms he bought not sure he was ever going to use them with Harry.   
  
Harry looked at the condoms he tossed on the bed and back to Louis. “Are we doing that?” He asked, a sly smile plastered on his face. He took the wipes and cleaned himself up, smiling when he saw Louis hadn't even gone completely soft after his orgasm, his cock still half hard.  
  
“I just thought- I mean. If you want to, yeah.”  
  
“I do. How do you wanna do this?” He asked, and Louis blushed at the question. Harry got on his knees on the bed and pushed Louis flush against him.  
  
“I- I don't know.”  
  
“I'm fine either way, just so you know,” Harry said with a wink and Louis cracked a smile.  
  
“I honestly don't know,” he admitted. He wanted so badly to be inside of Harry, but at the same time he was dying to be filled again after such a long time. “What do you wanna do?”  
  
“Well,” Harry dragged out the word, touching Louis' bottom lip with the tips of his fingers. “Ever since I saw that bum of yours I've been having quite some fantasies about it,” he said and grabbed both of Louis' asscheeks in his hands. They fit right into them and he kneaded them hungrily.  
  
“Yeah, let's do that,” Louis said, almost out of breath already, letting his head rest on Harry's shoulder.   
  
“Next time we can do it the other way, yeah? I really want it like that, too,” Harry said to his ear and Louis nodded, eagerly. He swallowed dry and licked his lips. “Lay down for me.”  
  
Louis laid on the bed, adjusting a pillow under his head and another on the small of his back. Harry nudged his legs open with his knees and put himself between them, laying right on top of Louis and giving him an open mouthed kiss.  
  
“Been waiting for this so long,” he said against Louis' lips, feeling his dick pressed between their stomachs. “Couldn't wait to fuck you,” he murmured.  
  
“You have such a dirty mouth,” Louis said, impressed and just a little embarrassed.   
  
Harry stopped kissing him and supported himself on his hands, looking down at him seriously. “You don't like it? I can totally stop it, I'll shut up and-”  
  
“No no no, I love it,” Louis said and smiled at him. Harry's lip curled up in a smile and he bent down again to kiss him.   
  
“Wanna hear me say how good you're making me feel later, when I'm fucking you?” Harry said with the cockiest smile Louis had ever seen.   
  
He was beyond turned on now, kissing Harry hungrily before shoving the bottle of lube into his hands. “Get a move on,” he said cheekily and Harry chuckled before resting on his heels, positioning himself right between Louis' spread legs, and uncapped the bottle.   
  
He poured some onto two of his fingers and Louis shifted uncomfortably on the bed. He was feeling jittery and just a little nervous. He swallowed dry when Harry furrowed his brows in concentration and let the tip of his index finger graze over Louis' hole.  
  
“Do you do this to yourself?” Harry asked, just teasing and spreading lube. “When you get yourself off?”  
  
His voice was thick and rough and Louis forced himself to relax when the tip of Harry's finger slipped inside him.   
  
“Sometimes,” he admitted, feeling himself blush. Harry's finger moved deeper, right until the first knuckle. Harry used his lube-free hand to run soothing circles on Louis' thigh, gently squeezing the flesh beneath his fingers, and Louis relaxed almost completely.   
  
“Yeah?” Harry asked, looking from where his finger was moving slowly inside him and to Louis' face. “Do you have a toy?” This time Louis felt his cheeks burn. Harry chuckled. “I guess you do,” he said and pushed his whole finger in. “This okay?”  
  
Louis nodded quickly, breathing deeply. “Another finger, please,” he asked.   
  
Harry smirked. “So polite,” he said, and removed his index finger from Louis to coat it with more lube. This time he pushed two inside, just as slowly. Louis raised and lowered his hips, trying to get them further into him. “Feels good already?” Harry asked him, his expression that of surprise.   
  
“Ye-yeah,” he said. It was an understatement, really. It felt amazing and Louis' cock was fully hard, resting on his stomach. “Your fingers are so long. Mine aren't and I can never get a good angle to- oh fuck,” he cursed when Harry curled his fingers inside him and hit his prostate dead on. “Again,” he asked.  
  
“What's the magic word?” Harry asked and laughed when Louis glared angrily at him. He bent down and kissed Louis hard before twisting his fingers and rubbing that spot inside of Louis that was making him roll his eyes back into his head. “You feel so warm and tight against my fingers, can't wait to feel you around my cock,” Harry whispered in his ear and Louis felt the blood drain from his legs.   
  
Louis felt it when Harry added yet another finger, making his rim stretch a lot more, but he didn't feel any pain at all. Maybe it was Harry's kissing, maybe it was his fingers hitting his prostate, maybe it was the filhty things he was whispering into his ear, maybe it was just _Harry_ , but he didn't care the slightest bit. All he knew was that he was being prepped so thoroughly and carefully that he could only hold on to Harry's torso and moan into his shoulder.   
  
“I'm good, ready,” he whispered, his breathing fast and shallow.  
  
“Let me touch you just a bit more, yeah?” Harry asked, smirking down at him. “It'll be over before it even starts if I get inside you now,” he admitted. He looked painfully hard again.  
  
“And how is waiting gonna help that?” Louis asked and grabbed Harry's wrist, making him pull his hand away. He winced and clenched around nothing. He was going to have a proper fit if Harry didn't fuck him already. “Just fuck me, please.”  
  
“Fuck, don't talk like that,” Harry said, and his eyes were dark and his voice low and dangerous. Louis sank his head into the pillow with a smile on his face when Harry finally wiped his lubed hand on a wet wipe and reached for the condom. Louis watched, from the corner of his eye, Harry rolling it up on himself with a hiss before spreading way more lube than necessary all over his length. “This position okay?” He asked, and Louis admired how dirty and sweet he managed to be.  
  
“Yeah, yeah, it's fine,” he blurted out, and adjusted himself more comfortably on the bed when Harry put even more lube on his hole before start pressing in.  
  
“I'm going to make you feel  _so_ good, Lou,” he promised, and Louis wholeheartedly believed him.  
  
He'd done a great job at prepping Louis, but he still felt the sting of his rim stretching and had to bite the back of his hand as he was being stretched more than he'd ever been. “Oh, fuck,” he cried out, much louder than he should have, when the head of Harry's cock went past his rim.   
  
“Shh,” Harry soothed, bending down to kiss him. He was shivering and his forehead felt damp when he nuzzled Louis' neck. He looked guilty when their eyes met again. “I know I can hurt a bit, and we can stop any time you want. Want me to pull out?” He asked, cupping Louis' face with one hand.  
  
“No, don't. I like it. It hurts good,” he confessed. “Just go slow, yeah?”  
  
Harry groaned deep in his throat and touched his forehead to Louis' and closed his eyes. Ever so slowly, he moved further and deeper. Louis felt every inch of him, stretching him and making him feel fuller than he'd ever been. He clung to Harry, arms wrapped around his back, and bit down on Harry's shoulder when he felt the tickling of Harry's pubic hair against his skin.   
  
“Fuck, this feels amazing,” Harry whispered into his neck, hiding his face on Louis' skin. “You okay?” He asked, looking up at him. Harry looked almost in pain, his whole face contorted with concentration and restraint.   
  
“Yeah,” Louis answered, voice raspy and broken. “Move a little.”  
  
“Can't, I'll come,” Harry confessed, smirking a little. “I don't think you fully understand how incredible you feel- ah!” Harry moaned when Louis clenched around him on purpose. “Don't do that,” he said, half scolding and half amused. “Still wanna fuck you into the mattress tonight.”  
  
Louis closed his eyes and released his grip around him. Harry pulled back just a little and moved back slowly. Louis saw stars. He could feel Harry slightly grazing that spot inside him, and he was barely moving. “Gotta keep quiet, love,” Harry said, muffling the noises he was making with a kiss.   
  
“This won't work,” Louis said, huffing out a breath. He shifted under Harry and he immediately pulled out, a look of concern on his face. “This position, I mean,” Louis explained. “I can get quite loud,” he said with a smirk and stood on his hands and knees, lowering his head into the pillow and looking back up at Harry. He was completely exposed like this, but he was way past the point of feeling embarrassed, especially when Harry was looking at him like that, his pupils blown completely wide with lust. He looked feral, and Louis shivered.   
  
“You really don't know what you do to me, do you?” Harry asked, running his hands all over Louis' ass, squeezing and sinking his fingers deep into the soft flesh. “Gonna fuck you so hard,” he whispered, and finally arranged himself behind Louis, holding his erection in his hand and guiding himself inside Louis once again.   
  
It was slow and measured, and Louis' eyes rolled to the back of his head and he sank his face in the pillow, letting out a long, drawn out moan. It was sufficiently muffled, and he let himself go.   
  
“Good?” Harry asked, and his voice was shaking just as much as his hands on Louis' hips. Louis nodded and Harry gripped him just a little harder before speaking again. “Tell me if it stops feeling good.”  
  
It never did. When Harry started to thrust in earnest, full, long thrust Louis thought he was going to faint. Harry was big, and just the right size to rub against his sweet spot even when he wasn't trying to. Just a slight graze that made him feel dizzy.   
  
“Feel so good,” he whispered in Louis' ear. He'd bent down and had his chest glued to Louis' back, their skin gliding along easily from the dampness and heat. His breath was hot and heavy against Louis' ear. He could feel Harry touching all of him; felt him against the back of his legs, felt him all against his back, felt his arm wrapped around his waist, felt his hand reaching for his and locking their fingers together, and he most definitely felt him moving inside of him. And he felt amazing.  
  
“Harry, fuck,” he groaned, lifting his head from the pillow to get some air and biting his lips. It was impossible to stop himself from making any noise, it was just too much. Harry was thrusting faster and rougher, and with each thrust Louis felt tears springing from his eyes. “Ha-Harry,” he started, and Harry moved slower. “Can we stop just- just a little?” He asked, out of breath.   
  
Harry immediately stilled. “Sure, why? Am I hurting you?” He asked. Louis couldn't see his face, but heard the worry in his voice just the same. He started to pull out when Louis stopped him.  
  
“No, don't do that. I just need a minute, it's too much,” he tried his best to explain, and felt Harry drop small kisses along his shoulder line.  
  
“Sorry, love,” he said, and apologized with kisses and soft touches to Louis' back.   
  
“Don't apologize,” he craned his neck to look at Harry. He looked sinful, with his sweaty hair sticking to his neck and parted lips red from too much biting. Louis could feel him twitch inside of him, and he shuddered. “It feels  _too_ good, if that's possible.”  
  
Harry chuckled and bent down to whisper in his ear. “Trust me, it is.” He nibbled on his earlobe lightly and Louis shivered. “You don't know how hard it's been for me not to come. You have the most tight, delicious ass I've ever fucked.”  
  
“Oh, God,” Louis sank his head down into the pillow, feeling so close to coming he was weak. “Move,” he growled, and he swore he felt Harry's lip turn up into a smirk against his neck when he resumed his pace. It was fast and punishing and Louis' muscles gave out. He dropped to the bed on his stomach, the friction on his dick trapped against his body and the mattress making him cry out.   
  
Harry moved down along with him, and kept on going without his pace faltering. “You're doing so good, taking my cock so well,” he praised. He brought both his hands next to Louis' on the bed and entwined their fingers together. Louis focused on that, holding him tight when he felt dizzy and out of breath.   
  
“Close to coming?” Harry asked, sounding out of breath as well. “Because I can't-”  
  
“Yeah, just don't stop,” Louis pleaded. With each of Harry's thrusts his body moved on the bed, and the friction was good enough to make him come, if he kept it just like that. He whined when Harry lifted up his torso, pulling Louis up with him. His legs felt weak, but he managed to stay on his knees.   
  
“Fuck. Oh, Harry, God, fuck,” Louis babbled when Harry kept hitting that spot over and over again while his hand sneaked around his waist and jerked him off. Louis fisted the sheets under his hands and bit his lips, feeling so overwhelmed he could cry.   
  
“Come on, come for me. Give me a good one, yeah?” Harry kept whispering in his ear, coaxing him while thrusting just right. With a muffled shout, Louis came. His whole body convulsed and he stopped breathing while it washed over him in long, pleasurable waves. He let out a shaky breath and felt soft kisses along the back of his neck.  
  
“Felt good, this one. Squeezed my cock so tight I almost came,” Harry said and Louis whimpered. Harry brought his hands back to Louis' hips, his left one still wet with Louis' come. “Tell me if I hurt you,” Harry said and before Louis could say anything Harry started moving again. This time, he held Louis' hips in place while he thrusted forward.   
  
Louis screamed. Harry didn't let his body move an inch while he pounded into him. “Okay?” He asked, and Louis managed to nod. “Gonna come, Lou. You're gonna make me cum so hard,” he said, and he'd lost his pace, slamming into him fast and sloppy, just chasing his orgasm.   
  
“On-On me,” Louis breathed out, and Harry let out a guttural sound deep in his throat.   
  
Louis winced when Harry pulled out, feeling empty and clenching around nothing. He heard the snap of Harry removing the condom and the wet sound his hand made. And then he was moaning. Low and deep and Louis felt it. Warm, sticky liquid landing on the small of his back.   
  
His legs gave out, and he landed on the wet spot he'd made beneath him. He felt Harry's gentle hand smear his cum down the curve of Louis' bum, spreading the liquid on his skin. “Look at you,” he said, admiration clear in his voice. “So beautiful like this.”  
  
Louis couldn't reply even if he knew what to say. Harry plopped down on the bed next to him. With his clean hand, he traced long lines across Louis' back. “Hey, look at me.”  
  
His voice was back to soft, and when Louis met his gaze he had the biggest smile on his face. Louis smiled widely and softly back at him.   
  
“You feeling alright?” Harry asked with a smirk.   
  
“Yeah, I guess I am. Just alright. Not like I've had the most amazing fuck of my life or anything,” Louis said with a shrug of his shoulders and giggled. Harry followed him and pulled Louis to lay on top of him.  
  
“I'm gross,” Louis said, scrunching up his nose when he felt how sticky the drying cum felt on his body.  
  
“Dirty. It's different,” Harry said, running his fingers in Louis' hair and kissing him.  
  
“Like me dirty?” Louis asked, a small smirk on his own lips this time.   
  
Harry chuckled and nodded. “Gonna make you dirty as many times as you'll let me.”  
  
“Gonna make me clean again afterwards? Because I could really use a shower right about now,” he said.   
  
“Yeah, before I fall asleep,” Harry said and Louis smiled fondly at him. He did look tired and utterly relaxed. He looked blissed, honestly.   
  
Louis took Harry by his hand and they crossed the few steps to get to Louis' bathroom. The bathtub was still full.  
  
“Ohh, we could take a bath,” Harry suggested, close behind him.   
  
“In lukewarm water and to wallow in our own filth? I don't think so,” Louis scoffed and unplugged the tub. When he stood upright again Harry was quick to wrap his arms around him.   
  
“You smell incredible,” Harry said against Louis' neck.   
  
“I smell like sex,” he replied with a smile, petting Harry's arms across his stomach.  
  
“Like I said, incredible,” Harry said and Louis turned his head to the side so he could kiss him. It was slow and gentle, nothing compared to the fervent kisses they'd shared minutes ago. When he opened his eyes again, Harry had a lazy smile on his face. “Let's get clean.”  
  
They turned the shower on and stepped inside the tub. Harry tied his hair in a bun, saying he hated to sleep with wet hair. Louis let him wash up first, standing behind him and running his hands along Harry's wet back.   
  
Harry handed him the soapy loofah he was using to wash himself to Louis. “Please?” He asked and Louis happily complied, scrubbing his back and smacking his bum when he was done. Harry yelped and pulled him under the water stream with him. He was smiling so brightly Louis couldn't help but smile back.   
  
“Let me do you, yeah?” Harry asked, softly, and cleaned Louis up. He washed away the dry come on Louis' back and his still-slightly sensitive dick. When he lowered his hand in between Louis' cheeks, he hissed in pain. “Sorry. Was I too rough?” He asked, and Louis could bite him from how guilty he looked.  
  
“Just the right amount of roughness for me,” Louis replied, and put his head on Harry's chest as he cleaned the lube from his body. He still had his face hiding in Harry's chest as he washed his hair, careful not to let any shampoo in them. “You use two-in-one shampoo? I can't believe it...” Harry asked, shaking his head in mock disbelief.  
  
Louis chuckled. “Not all of us have princess-like locks, you know.”  
  
“I'm just happy Lilly's hair doesn't get the same treatment,” Harry said with a last kiss to Louis' lips before they turned the shower off and dried themselves.   
  
Louis' underwear was hopeless, with a wet patch right in front of it. Harry said his was still fine, but Louis insisted he borrow one.   
  
“It's just a short walk back to my house, I can go commando,” Harry said and Louis frowned.  
  
“You're going back home? Why?” He asked, confused.  
  
“Well, yeah. Don't want Lilly waking up to find me in your bed,” he explained and Louis shook his head.  
  
“I want you to stay. If you want to, of course.”  
  
“Wouldn't that be a problem?” Harry asked, but he was struggling to hide a smile. It made Louis feel more relieved that he liked to admit.   
  
“Would it be a problem if Lilly saw you first thing in the morning? You, Harry Styles, that she adores more than anybody else?” Harry's smile grew wide. “I think it will be fine, yeah,” he finished.   
  
“In this case, I'll stay,” he said.  
  
“You'll have to wear underwear, though. I sleep with the door unlocked and she has the habit of sneaking into my bed early in the morning sometimes.”  
  
“She does? That's adorable,” Harry said and accepted the underwear Louis handed him. He also put on a pair of borrowed pajama shorts, and Louis did the same.   
  
“She shouldn't. We have a rule of sleeping in our own beds, but I just can't resist it when she comes and snuggles up to me,” Louis confessed. “I'm gonna check on her, I'll be right back.”  
  
“I'll change the sheets,” Harry offered.  
  
“Third drawer in the dresser,” he said behind his shoulder as he made his way to his daughter's bedroom. He slightly opened the door and found her sleeping in the exact same position he'd tucked her in. Afraid to wake her up, he tiptoed back to his bedroom to help Harry with the pillowcases.   
  
“Come here,” Harry said as he laid on his side on the bed. “Spoon me?” He asked, and wiggled his brows.   
  
Louis chuckled and went to him, removing the hair band from Harry's hair and laying behind him. He slotted his legs between Harry's and circled his waist. Harry held his hand in his and took a deep breath.   
  
“Thanks for tonight,” Louis said through a yawn. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this tired and relaxed at the same time.   
  
“Thank  _you_ , Lou.” Harry said and he could the smirk in his voice. In less than minutes, he was sound asleep.

 


	7. Chapter 7

Louis woke up to the sound of his daughter's bedroom door getting open and closed. The first thing he noticed when he was conscious again was the firm, warm body next to his. He smiled even before he opened his eyes. He took a deep breath in Harry's hairline, just behind his ear. He smelled of sweat and warm skin.  
  
He was snoring softly and it made Louis' heart flutter in his chest. He was so gone for him he thought everything about him was endearing. “Haz? Wake up,” he said lowly into the other man's ear. “Lilly is coming here,” he whispered just in time for his bedroom door to open.  
  
The little girl had her eyes only half-open, fighting a hard battle against sleep. She was looking down and rubbing them clean. They opened up completely when she saw Harry on her daddy's bed. She stopped on her way and looked from her father to Harry, looking so much like a confused puppy that Louis chuckled.  
  
Harry tried to roll away from Louis, but he kept him in place. “Morning, love,” Louis said, and cleared his throat.  
  
“Daddy?” She started, and Louis braced himself for what she was about to ask. He had thought about what he was going to say when she asked why Harry was on his bed, and he could feel how tense Harry's body felt against his.  
  
“Yes, peanut?”  
  
She looked uncertain, the same way when she was about to ask a question she already knew she wouldn't like the answer. “May I have cake for breakfast?”  
  
Both Harry and Louis giggled. Harry covered his face while shaking it, looking much more at ease than when the little girl first entered the room.  
  
“Hum,” Louis thought. “Can you get a slice yourself?” He asked, and she nodded. “Then it's fine. We'll meet you downstairs in a minute.”  
  
She scurried off to the stairs and Louis looked down at Harry. “You look nice when you wake up,” he said and Harry rolled his eyes, but smiled.  
  
“Not to criticize your parenting, but do you think cake is the best choice for breakfast?” Harry joked.  
  
“When it buys me five minutes of peace in bed with you, yes,” he said and kissed Harry on the cheek. He turned to face him and they shared a pillow.  
  
“She didn't even question why I was here,” Harry said, holding Louis' hips and tracing small circles with his thumb on the soft skin. Louis snuggled up closer to him.  
  
“The adult world is a very confusing place when you're a kid. She'll ask questions later, don't worry.”  
  
“And what will you say?” Harry asked, biting his lips nervously.  
  
“That you stayed for a sleepover.”  
  
Harry smiled. “That's a good answer.” He didn't look like he was convinced.  
  
“Yes, but...?” Louis started, and Harry looked down.  
  
“I was hoping we could have lots of sleepovers,” Harry continued.  
  
“Me too,” Louis said, and Harry's eyes went back to his.  
  
“But...is it a good idea?” Harry sounded insecure. “I mean, I'm not looking for a friends with benefits kind of thing. I really like you and wish we could try being together,” he confessed.  
  
“We're on the same page,” Louis said and kissed him briefly on the lips. “So what's the problem?”  
  
“Well, I'm thinking about Lilly.”  
  
“She knows some boys have boyfriends instead of girlfriends, and she'll be more than happy that you're spending more time with us. Because this is a full package deal. You get me, you get her as bonus,” Louis said and Harry grinned.  
  
“Who said you're not the bonus?” Louis playfully punched him on the arm. “I wouldn't have it any other way, Lou. But that's the problem, we're too attached to each other, Lilly and I.”  
  
“Oh, I see,” Louis finally realized. “You're afraid that when, slash, if we break up, she's going to be hurt.”  
  
“I'm not saying it's not gonna work out between us,” Harry was quick to add. “I'm really willing to make an effort here.”  
  
“I know, me too. But you never know, and I understand. Harry, even if we have the most terrible break up and can't stand each other, and you completely walk out of both our lives, she'll be _fine._ ” Louis said, cupping Harry's face in his hands. “Haz, she's going to have people walk out on her all her life, she's gonna learn to deal with it.”  
  
Harry bit his bottom lip. “I guess you're right.”  
  
“I know I am. If you do grow apart, she'll get over it eventually. I can't protect her from losing people in her life, and I don't want to. It's part of life.”  
  
“You're such a mature parent,” Harry teased and Louis smiled.  
  
“I've had a lot of time to think about it, actually,” Louis said, and put his face into Harry's chest, twirling one of his curls in between his fingers. “Let's enjoy the ride, yeah?”  
  
Harry kissed the top of his head. “We'll make this work,” Harry assured him. Louis smiled and sighed. He heard the distinct sound of his daughter's footsteps approaching and then she was by his side on the bed. He opened her arms to her and scooched away from Harry.  
  
She slid between them and Harry wiped a bit of frosting on her cheek. “Where's my slice?” He asked, hugging her.  
  
“You can't eat in bed,” she told him.  
  
“Is that so? What a shame,” he shot Louis a glance that made him blush and giggle. He hid his face in his daughter's hair and felt Harry's hand brush his as he made circles on her back with his broad palm.  
  
“Did you sleep in daddy's bed?” She asked him, and he nodded.  
  
“Harry was here on a sleepover. Better than sleeping on the couch, huh?” Louis said and she nodded. She curled with her back to him and hid her face on Harry's chest. Just like her father had done a few minutes ago, she played with Harry's hair in between her finger. He had a face-splitting grin on his face.  
  
“Like father, like daughter, I guess,” he said and kissed the top of her head.  
  
“Why can't I have sleepovers with Lucy?” She asked, turning his head to face him.  
  
“Because you're still too little. Harry doesn't need his parents' permission, so he can stay,” Louis explained.  
  
“Can we have a sleepover at his house, daddy? If you go with me?” She asked, turning on her back to look at both of them.  
  
“You're more than welcome to have a sleepover at my house. We'll bake cookies and build a fort,” he told her, whose eyes lit up.  
  
“Can we, daddy? Please?” She asked him, and he pretended to think really hard before answering.  
  
“Fine, I guess we can,” he said, and she hugged him tight before getting up from the bed. “May I watch some TV?”  
  
“Yeah, go ahead,” he said and she skipped downstairs.  
  
“How hard of a decision that must have been,” Harry teased him and Louis straddled him, hands sprawled across his broad chest.  
  
“Can I suck you off in the fort?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.  
  
Harry giggled and nodded. “We'll put on a really boring movie for Lilly to watch, a documentary on moss or something, and when she sleeps we'll carry her upstairs and then have our own little fun in the fort.”  
  
“Sounds good to me,” Louis said, and got up from the bed. “Come, let's have some cake for breakfast.”  
  
Harry followed him downstairs. Lilly was sitting on the couch, her full attention captured by the cartoon on TV. She was giggling and Louis saw she was watching his own personal favorite, The Amazing World of Gumball.  
  
“Daddy, it's the episode we like, about the secret,” she told him and he kissed the top of her head in passing.  
  
“Let me get some breakfast first, peanut,” he told her. Harry was already making himself right at home, getting plates and forks from the cabinets. Louis cut two generous slices of cake for both of them. “Want another slice, Lilly?” He asked.  
  
“Yes, please,” she said. They went to the couch and sat one in each of her side and had breakfast in silence, watching the cartoon and just enjoying the good company. Louis could get used to this quite easily, he thought.  
  
His phone rang on the coffee table and his mother's face blinked on the screen.  
  
“May I answer it?” Lilly asked, giving Harry her plate and fork.  
  
“Sure.”  
  
“Hello?” The little girl said into the phone. “Hi, grandma! I'm having cake for breakfast today,” she said excitedly. “Yeah, daddy let me because we have a lot of leftovers. He and Harry are eating it, too. Yeah, he's here. No, grandma, he slept here. He had a sleepover in daddy's bed.”  
  
Louis dropped his fork, looking at his daughter with his mouth hanging open. The little snitch. Harry looked as surprised as he was. Outed by his own daughter, he couldn't believe it.  
  
“Sure, bye grandma! Here, she wants to talk to you, daddy,” she said and handed him the phone. She thanked Harry and got her plate again, eating her cake as if she'd said nothing out of the ordinary.  
  
Louis stood up and went to the backyard before he spoke.  
  
“Hi, mum,” he said cheerfully.  
  
“So you and Harry had a sleepover, huh?” She asked, and Louis could hear the air quotes in the word sleepover. She didn't sound judgmental, though.  
  
“Kids say the silliest things, don't they?” He tried, making light of the situation.  
  
“It's not like I'm surprised. I have to say I was actually more surprised when you got a girl pregnant that I am now. Especially after meeting Harry. Can't say that I blame you. He's all Fizzy's been talking about since yesterday.”  
  
“Mum!” He said, covering his eyes with his hand. “So this is okay, right? For you?”  
  
“Oh, honey. Did you ever think it wouldn't?”  
  
He hadn't, honestly. It still felt wonderful to hear it. “Not really.”  
  
“I know it's not my business, but for Lilly's sake, I have to ask. Is this going to be a fun thing or are you going to try and make it work?”  
  
Louis looked through the glass door into the living room. Lilly was feeding Harry cake from her plate, and he was listening attentively to whatever she was saying. “We'll give it a good, honest try, mum. I really like him. More than like, actually.”  
  
“I know you do. He does, too. I don't know who he fonds over more, you or Lilly.”  
  
Louis smiled. Harry had put both their plates on the coffee table and Lilly was sitting on his lap, head on his shoulder as they watched TV. He wouldn't mind if Harry loved Lilly just the tiniest bit more.  
  
“I gotta go, mum. He's being cute with her and I have to kiss them both about it,” he said. His mother laughed and wished him a happy Sunday.  
  
And it was. They played with Lilly and her new presents. She taught Harry the “touched you last” game and Louis watched amused as he chased his daughter around the house, picking her up and holding her upside when he caught her.  
  
They spent the afternoon in the pool and went back to Louis' house for dinner. When Harry said goodbye and went to his own house to sleep, Louis felt lighter and happier than he had in a long time.  
  
The days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months. Louis couldn't imagine himself being happier or more in love than he was. His and Harry's family became so close he felt like a son to Anne's, and Harry felt the same.  
  
It was already October when he said he loved Harry for the first time.  
  
“Come on, Daddy. You've taken too many pictures already,” his daughter scolded him, refusing to pose for another photo. Louis just couldn't resist it, she looked too adorable in her dinosaur costume.  
  
She'd been obsessed with them ever since Harry got her a dinosaur-themed coloring book. It had tidbits of information about the animals in every page, and Lilly knew the name of at least twenty of them. Louis could count on his fingers how many he knew by heart.  
  
Her favorite was the brontosauros, but the only costume they could find was of the one with the spikes on its back (a stegosaurus, she'd told him), and she loved it just the same. It was very similar to a onesie, all green and with a hoodie. It had white felt claws on its ends and Louis could just die from the cuteness.  
  
“Harry's waiting for us, come on,” she told him and Louis put his phone away.  
  
“Alright, let's go,” he said and opened the door. The cool evening breeze toyed with his hair and he pulled the zipper of his hoodie all the way up. Lilly arrived to Harry's door before he did and she was ringing the doorbell when he got to her. Louis was clutching the largest package of M&Ms he could find at the store, and he was hoping to finish it by the end of the night.  
  
When Harry opened the door, Lilly crashed into his legs and put her chin on his stomach, looking up at him. “Trick or treat!” She said and he hugged her.  
  
“Well, I do have a treat for you,” he said and pulled out a bag of Maltesers from behind his back. Her eyes lit up and she was already tearing it open when Louis crossed the threshold. “I have a treat for you, too,” Harry said and kissed Louis slowly and gently on the mouth.  
  
Louis smiled into the kiss, feeling how chapped Harry's lips were from the cool weather. He'd kiss them better the whole night. Harry looked perfectly cozy with a light purple sweater and unstyled hair.  
  
“Can we watch it already?” Lilly asked from the couch, waiting for them anxiously.  
  
His street wasn't actually famous for its trick or treating traditions, something Louis didn't actually mind. Back in London, they'd never gone trick or treating, but he always insisted on putting Lilly in costumes for the sheer cuteness of it. She obviously never minded, and they stayed inside and watched movies and ate as much candy as they could.  
  
Her latest favorite Halloween movie was The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Harry beamed when they invited him to watch it with them.  
  
“Sure, let me just do some popcorn, yeah?” Harry said and went to the kitchen.  
  
“I can make it, may I?” Lilly asked, jumping up from the couch.  
  
With Harry's help, they popped a huge bowl and brought it into the living room.  
  
“Hey Lilly,” Harry said. “What do you get when a dinosaur sneezes?”  
  
Louis rolled his eyes, but Lilly loved Harry's jokes and thought deeply before answering. The truth was, Louis loved them, too. He just couldn't let Harry know that.  
  
“No. What do you get when a dinosaur sneezes?” She asked.  
  
“Out of the way!” He replied and she laughed loudly. He looked at Louis with pride in his eyes and smile, and Louis pecked him on the lips.  
  
“Good one, love,” he mocked, but Harry was unaffected by his tone.  
  
With only the kitchen light on, they turned on the movie and curled up on the couch under a blanket to watch it. Lilly was snuggled up against Harry, who had his arm over her shoulder and was holding Louis' hand on his lap.  
  
It felt warm and cozy and Louis didn't want to change a thing. When the first tune of This is Halloween started, Harry's deep voice filled the room.  
  
“Boys and girls of every age, wouldn't you like to see something strange?” He started singing, and the little girl started giggling. Harry got up from the couch. “Come with us and you will see. This, our town of Halloween.” He moved about the room with surprising grace, and his long limbs gave his movements just the perfect Jack flare he needed for the song.  
  
Lilly was flat out laughing, and Louis could only stare at Harry with the biggest smile on his face, a string of Iloveyou Iloveyou Iloveyou playing in his mind, over and over as Harry did his best to entertain them.  
  
Before he knew it, Louis had joined him in the song. Lilly was on her knees on the couch, singing the words along with them. “This is Halloween, everybody make a scene,” she said, and Harry tiptoed in her direction, making grabby motions with his fingers. The little girl shrieked with delight when Harry picked her up.  
  
“It's our town, everybody _scream_ ,” he said with a growl and bit down on the little girl's cheek, making her squirm and laugh and laugh until she could no more.  
  
He set her back down on the couch and she hugged him tight, looking like she wouldn't let go any time soon. He adjusted himself and looked at Louis, grinning and a little out of breath.  
  
“One of my favorites,” he said, as if he needed to justify such a display, and Louis couldn't help it any longer. He kissed him long and deep, taking advantage of the fact that his daughter's focus was turned completely to the TV screen.  
  
“I love you, you know,” Louis said, low and honest. His heart was beating hard and fast in his chest, and the adrenaline rush was almost making him shake. Harry grinned and bit his lips.  
  
“I know you do. I do, too. Love you, I mean,” he said and it was Louis' turn to grin, the corners of his eyes all crinkled and happy.  
  
Lilly turned her face upwards, looking at both of them. “I love you, too,” she said, giving each of them a loud kiss on the cheek.  
  
Harry and Louis laughed, both endeared by the little girl. When their eyes locked again, Louis saw in them the same love that poured from his.  
  
  
_EPILOGUE_

  
Louis couldn't wait to get home. It was his last meeting with his boss in London before he was free for his first proper holiday in at least three years. He drove carefully on the icy December roads, willing his car to be stable and carry him home safely.  
  
It was a little after two o'clock when he parked in his driveway. The driveway that used to be only Harry's, that was. When coming back and forth between their homes became too annoying, Louis and Lilly moved to Harry's house. It was the one with the pool, after all.  
  
The air was cold and nipped at his face when he got out of the car. He opened the door to the house and his ears were immediately filled with the sound of small, high-pitched giggles. The house was warm and smelled amazing. With a grin already plastered to his face, he made the short way to the living room to find his family on the floor, and his heart grew ten times bigger in his chest.  
  
They were sitting on the floor, next to the Christmas tree. It was only three days until Christmas, and Harry insisted on keeping it lit at all times, even if it was the middle of the day. He went around the couch and three set of eyes shot up to see him, three grins directed at him.  
  
“Dad, you're home,” Lilly walked up to him and hugged him. “Was the meeting okay?” She asked, and Louis held her tight against his waist.  
  
His girl, now eight years old, was bright and fun and cheerful. Her blonde, shoulder-length hair was dip-dyed an electric blue. It made her look almost like a teen, but he didn't hesitate a second when she said she wanted to cut and dye it. It was her body, after all, and he wanted to make sure she knew from an young age that it was hers and hers alone, to do whatever she pleased with it. The fact that it was just hair and it would grow out again made him tremendously relieved, though.  
  
“Hey, peanut. The meeting was great, I don't have to be back at the office until mid January,” he said and walked up to Harry on the floor and the little baby girl on his lap. “Hey, lovelies,” he said and kissed Harry on the lips and their daughter on the tip of her nose.  
  
Rose giggled and made grabby hands at him. He sat down on the floor and picked up the ten month old baby, bringing her close to his chest. “How are you, love? Did you, Lilly and Papa have a good day? I missed you all loads,” he said as the baby grabbed his chin and pulled at the skin.  
  
“We had a great day,” Harry answered for her, a smile permanently etched on his face for the past few weeks. “Lilly made gingerbread cookies, all by herself.”  
  
Louis turned to her, who was biting back a smile. “You did not. You don't even like them,” he said, incredulous and she nodded.  
  
“I don't, but you and Papa do,” she said and went to the kitchen, bringing back a jar filled with cookies. “Papa only had to take them out of the oven when they were done, but I could've done that.”  
  
“Just because you can, doesn't mean you should,” Harry said and Louis could see the effort Lilly was making not to roll her eyes at him. He had a point, though. Louis adjusted the baby on his lap and took the cookie his daughter offered him, biting into it. It was delicious and he hummed, eating it in three big bites. “Peanut, this is delicious,” he told her and she grinned proudly.  
  
“Got the recipe online. Papa's had licquor in it.”  
  
“Smart girl,” he said and got another one for himself.  
  
“And, we had a banana smoothie today,” Harry announced, smiling so big it made Louis do a double take.  
  
There was nothing new in them drinking smoothies. They had them every day for breakfast, Harry throwing in whatever fruit he could get his hands on. Lilly loved all of them, even when Louis wrinkled his nose at the somewhat cringy results he sometimes got.  
  
“Yeah? A good one?” He asked, looking from Lilly to Harry.  
  
“We _all_ had one, dad,” she told him and Louis finally understood it.  
  
He smiled at the baby on his lap, turning her so that she was facing him. “Did you have a banana smoothie, Rosie? Did you? Your first one, daddy's so proud,” he said and hugged the chubby baby, squeezing her just a little bit before letting her go.  
  
“Got her taste in fruit from her Papa,” Harry said proudly, touching the baby's cheek.  
  
It truly was a huge feat. Being adopted from China with a cleft lip and palate, rice milk was the only thing Rose would eat. Or rather, drink. Her split lip revealed her front teeth, making them look bigger and proeminent. Louis loved each and every one of them.  
  
The fact that her palate was also open made it very difficult for her to eat solid food. Being in an orphanage all her life, the only diet she'd known was rice milk. Louis could very well remember all the frustration felt because that was the only thing she'd eat, even when she was crying her lungs out from hunger.  
  
It hurt Harry just a little more than it hurt him, he thought. Harry expressed so much of his love through his food that it was a bitter sting that she wouldn't drink any kind of smoothie he'd made for her. 'She can't survive on rice milk alone, there's not enough nutrients in it,' he'd said, over and over again, almost in tears.  
  
No baby formula did the trick, but they kept on trying. She'd only been home with them for five weeks, and much of the first three weeks were filled with grief from her leaving the only place she'd ever known in her life. That milk was her biggest source of comfort, the best reminder of what was her home. The fact that she was letting go of it, and finding comfort in her _dads_ , was firework-worthy.  
  
Louis and Harry had prepared themselves for it. They knew the challenges that came with adoption, read every book they could find about it – and there were lots of them. But knowing you were going to suffer from jet-leg, knowing that the baby was going to be in a deep state of grief in the first few weeks, and actually living it, were completely different things.  
  
At first, Rose wouldn't sleep. She'd cry, take cat naps and cry again when she woke up. Everything looked different, her family sounded different, and even smelled different to her. They've read countless times that one parent should be the main provider of comfort and tend to all her needs so she could form a stronger bond with one of them, instead of splitting her affection between two people.  
  
Louis called bullshit on it. Both Harry and him loved her just as much, and wanted her to know it. Numb from exhaustion, they discovered that she'd fall asleep in seconds if she was laying on either Harry's or Louis' chest. Skin to skin contact did wonders for her, and Harry and Louis took turns sleeping with her on top of them, while the other kept his hand on the flat of her back. Harry's back was constantly screaming at him, but he didn't mind. Lilly had joined them in bed for every single one of those nights, and when Louis woke up with the warm weight of a daughter on his chest, the calming breathing of the other next to his face, and the snores and strands of Harry's hair tickling his shoulder, he felt like the luckiest man alive.  
  
Lilly was the best big sister they could've hoped for. When they decided that yes, they definitely wanted to add another member to their family, Lilly was the most excited out of them. They explained to her that her new sister would need time to adjust and that they might need to give Rose more attention than they would her.  
  
She smiled and said, 'I've had your attention for eight years, I can handle a few months'. They'd both smothered her with kisses that day, and she helped them fill every single piece of paperwork, the whole four kilos of it – yes, they'd weighted it.  
  
Lilly had also insisted that Rose would share a room with her, for now, even though they had an extra one. Her room was big enough to have a crib, and she helped decorate her sister's side of the bed. She cleared space in her wardrobe for her new sister's clothes and Louis might have cried about it.  
  
The first thing you saw when you looked at Rose's side of the room was a big sign Lilly had made for her. It was covered in glitter and star shapes. It read “You Have Come to Bring Us Joy,” and boy was it accurate. She was the light of their lives, and Louis dreaded the following week, when she'd have her first corrective surgery.  
  
“I was thinking of an apple one for her next feeding,” Harry said, “but I'm not sure I should push my luck.”  
  
“Maybe you could-” Louis was interrupted by Harry's phone ringing on the coffee table. He stretched to catch it, Kristan's face lighting up the screen.  
  
“Hello?” Harry answered. “Hi Lucy,” he smiled, “I'm great, how've you been? Oh really? That's awesome. Rosie is fine, thank you for asking. Sure, hold on,” he said and gave Lilly the phone.  
  
Louis turned his attention to Harry and the baby. “I can't believe she actually drank it. You know what it means, right?”  
  
Harry nodded and scooted closer to him. “She knows we're safe.” Louis saw his eyes were watering.  
  
“Dad? Can I go to Lucy's house? She wants to show me something,” the girl said, and Louis and Harry exchanged a look.  
  
“Yes, but you have to be back before it gets dark,” Louis said and Lilly smiled, hanging up quickly. “Put your coat on, I'll walk you.”  
  
“I can go alone, it's just a few blocks down the street” she argued, getting up.  
  
“Just because you can-” Harry started.  
  
“Doesn't mean I should, I know,” she said and this time she did roll her eyes. She went to the door and put on her jacket and beanie. Harry's beanie, to be more precise.  
  
Louis started to get up when Harry stopped him. “I'll go. You've been out all day, soak her up for a bit,” he said and kissed the top of Louis and Rose's head when standing up. “Let's go, Lilly,” he said and grabbed his own coat.  
  
“Bye, dad,” she shouted from the door, waving at him.  
  
“Bye, love. Have fun,” he said.  
  
“Tell me, how do you call an alligator in a vest?” He heard Harry ask their daughter as he opened the door.  
  
“What?” She said, smiling big. Her Papa's jokes were always her favorite.  
  
“An investigator,” he told her and Louis could hear her laugh when they walked down the driveway. He turned his attention to the baby squirming on his lap.  
  
“Let's get out of these working clothes, yeah?” He said and got up, carrying her upstairs to his and Harry's bedroom. He put her down right in the middle of the bed before he started to get changed. “Daddy's really proud of you for drinking that banana smoothie, love,” he talked to her and she looked at him with all her attention.  
  
“Can you say daddy? Come on, you have to say daddy before you say Papa, we have a bet on it and I'm not big on losing,” he said as he slid a sweatshirt over his head and slipped inside jogging pants. He went to the bed and laid down, hoping she'd crawl to him. No such luck, she just pushed herself up and grunted for him to pick her up. Well, twist his arm.  
  
He picked up the baby and sat her over his chest. “Poor thing, when you were beginning to understand what people were saying around you, you have to start all over again. But don't worry, both your dads are talkers, and if we don't talk your ears off, your sister will. I saw her reading Harry Potter to you the other day.”  
  
The baby cooed at him and he brought his lips to her hair, taking a deep breath. She smelled amazing, as babies tended to. They used the same baby shower gel he used on Lilly when she was younger, and the smell made him feel like home.  
  
“Don't let them fool you, Harry was a good guy and all that, but he was also a prick sometimes. I probably shouldn't be saying 'prick' around you, can you imagine if that's the first word you say? I'll have to explain some things to your Papa,” he said and the baby smiled. How he loved her toothy smile. “And Snape is a big no no. I don't care he wasn't actually evil, he was petty and mean and took out his teenage love's frustration on innocent kids. Now, Hermione is a different story. She's brave and witty and kind and that's the kind of person you should be looking up to. Right, Rosie?”  
  
The baby babbled and he kissed her until she was full on giggling. “That's my girl. I really lucked out on women in my life, huh?” He mused. “Both your grandmas are incredibly amazing women, who already spoil you girls rotten, and you have a bunch of aunties who are crazy about you. Not to mention your big sister. I think you can learn a lot from any of them. Makes up for having two daddies instead of a daddy and a mummy, don't you think?”  
  
The baby girl grabbed his nose and the next words he spoke had a nasal sound to them. “And you have the best Papa in the world as well. He loves us all _so much_ , and he loves us _so_ _well_. Between you and me, you can say Papa first. He'll be so happy I won't mind doing the dishes for a whole week.”  
  
“Of course she'll say Papa first,” Harry spoke from the doorway, making his way to the bed and laying next to them, kissing both Louis and Rose on the lips. “She's my little baby girl, aren't you?” He said and the baby giggled to him.  
  
“Traitor,” Louis mumbled, and blew a raspberry on her tummy. Both her and Harry laughed together.  
  
“Guess what Lucy wanted to show Lilly?” Harry asked, moving Louis' fringe away from his eyes.  
  
“What?”  
  
“A dog. They got her a dog for Christmas. Lilly is over the moon, will be asking for one for sure.”  
  
“We just gave her a baby sister, she'll have to settle for that,” Louis joked, and put the baby between them so Harry could play with her as well.  
  
“All settled with your boss for the next few weeks?” Harry asked, running the tips of his fingers on the baby's arms lovingly.  
  
“Yeah, he knows we'll be busy with taking care of Rosie after her surgery and he'll not bother us. I think,” he added.  
  
Her hospital stay was scheduled for two days before the New Years. The surgery would last a few hours and she'd be good to go home after two days, everything going according to plan. Every doctor they spoke to said it was best to do the procedure to close up her palate and lips as soon as possible, to minimize speaking and eating problems. They also assured them the risk was minimal, but they were scared half to death nevertheless.  
  
Harry sensed how tense he'd gotten with the topic, and rubbed his chest soothingly. “She'll be fine. We'll be fine,” he said, a small smile on his lips. “Before that, we'll spend a wonderful day at your mother's to celebrate your birthday on Christmas Eve, then Christmas with mine, and we'll get to see them love on our girls.”  
  
“I know, I'm just being silly,” Louis said, and turned to his side. They shared the pillow, their baby daughter busying herself twisting around Harry's hair in her tiny hands. A playful smile curled Harry's lips. “What?” Louis asked, smiling before Harry even spoke.  
  
“How about we bring a boy home, next time?”  
  
Louis thought it was an excellent idea.  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading my story! It was my first kidfic and it was definitely a pleasure to write! I hope you had fun reading it! Comments and kudos are much appreciated!
> 
> Come say hi on [Tumblr](http://pinky-heaven19.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> Also, if you liked this story, there is a [rebloggable](http://pinky-heaven19.tumblr.com/post/164902605534/for-you-i-saved-the-love-i-never-knew-how-to) post you can use to help me spread the fic around!


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